Choices
by Jeffrey Dahmer
Summary: What if Birchfall wasn't the only kit in ThunderClan to survive the Great Journey? What if his sister, Larchkit, had survived as well? As she travels through the mountains, she develops a silly crush on a certain amber-eyed warrior but she's not the only one to develop feelings in this twisted love triangle.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter One

Larchkit padded through the soft grass, the fresh dew catching onto her paws. She had never been to this area – she hadn't even been out of camp other than when they had to move from the regular ThunderClan camp to the new one by Sunningrocks.

All of the sudden, a familiar smell hit her nose, and she stopped, opening her mouth like she had seen all the senior warriors do. Scents swarmed her mouth and when she recognized the scent, she couldn't help but let out a shriek of joy and race towards where it was coming from.

She broke through some tall grass to see a kit, just a little smaller than herself, with bright amber eyes and pale gray fur. "Hollykit!"

"Larchkit!" Hollykit squeaked as she bounded forward to greet her sister.

"I've missed you so much! Why did you have to go? Is Shrewpaw with you? Ferncloud misses you terribly – she was so sad she couldn't even eat and a nice cat named Cody had to take care of us!" Larchkit rambled on as Hollykit hung on to every word.

"I miss you too," her sister mewed. "But I'm happy and Shrewpaw is here to keep me company. He's been teaching me how to hunt!"

"Wow, can you teach me?" Larchkit gasped with a grin. "And then I can catch enough prey for all the Clans and Ferncloud will stop being sad and everyone will stop worrying."

Suddenly, Hollykit's smile disappeared. "I can't…"

"Why not?" Larchkit pouted. Why wouldn't her sister help her?

"Because I'm dead… You're dreaming, Larchkit," Hollykit mewed sadly and Larchkit flinched back. Wasn't this a message from StarClan? Wasn't this her sister visiting her in her dreams? "No, this isn't a message or a visit."

Hollykit started padding away as Larchkit screamed her name. "Hollykit! No, don't leave me! Not again!"

But no matter how fast Larchkit ran, she couldn't catch up to her sister. She couldn't save her!

"Larchkit!"

Larchkit jolted awake, shooting to her paws as she gasped for air. Dustpelt was standing over her, his eyes wide and alarmed. "Are you hurt? You were crying in your sleep!"

Larchkit let out a breath. '_It was only a dream_…' "Y-yeah, I'm fine..."

As Larchkit sat there, the familiar feeling of hunger hit her as hard as the same monster that took her brother's life. She was always hungry; they all were. In fact, Larchkit almost died once from being so hungry. But Leafpaw brought back a mouse in time and Ferncloud had enough milk to feed her.

"I know, darling. We all are but I promise you won't feel like this forever," Dustpelt comfortingly licked his daughter over the ears. "Now, why don't you get some rest? You'll need it for the journey ahead of us."

"Journey?" Larchkit repeated, sitting up straighter. "What journey?"

Dustpelt only chuckled and winked at the small kit. "You'll find out soon enough. Now, can you at least _try_ to sleep? If you keep staying up so late, your sleep pattern will be off and you'll drive me and your mother crazy!"

Larchkit giggled as she laid back down, curling into her father's fur. Her brown tabby pelt blended in with his almost perfectly – hers being just a shade or two lighter - and if someone were to walk in, they probably wouldn't even be able to spot the kit.

Larchkit was almost an exact replica of her father, the only difference being their eyes; his was amber like Birchkit's and Hollykit's while Larchkit was the only one of the three to take Ferncloud's leafy-green eyes.

Larchkit sighed in content, despite the cold biting at her toes and the constant feeling of hunger. She buried her face in Dustpelt's fur and let herself drift off to sleep. But this time, she didn't dream of Hollykit; she dreamt of leading her family on a journey to a place where prey rustled in every bush and the sun was always shining.

The perfect place; her safe haven.

It would be a place where no one would freeze or starve or die. Everyone would be happy all the time and not even the most fearsome of creatures could harm them.

But the dream was ripped away from her once more when she awoke to the sound of cats moving around and excitedly talking. Larchkit blinked open her eyes a few times to see that Dustpelt had left but Ferncloud had taken his place. She was talking to some ShadowClan queen; she had moved in with three kits that were only slightly older than her and Birchkit, after some monsters came in and destroyed their camp.

"I'm worried for the kits; I don't want to force them into a journey they can't survive," the ShadowClan cat, Tallpoppy, murmured. When she noticed Larchkit's eyes open, she plastered a fake smile on her face. "Good morning, Sleepyhead. Birchkit is outside playing with Toadkit, Marshkit, and Applekit."

Larchkit ignored what Tallpoppy said and instead asked, "What journey?"

Ferncloud and Tallpoppy shared a look and Larchkit narrowed her eyes. Ferncloud slightly shook her head before turning back to her kit with the same fake smile on her face. "Why don't you go play with the kits and we can talk about it later?"

"But I want to know now!" Larchkit snapped and Ferncloud's smile faltered.

"Larchkit, go play with the others. You'll know everything soon enough," Ferncloud orders and Larchkit let out a sigh. She knew she was pushing her mother but she just wanted answers!

When she padded outside, the excitement was even stronger. There was a sense of great sadness in the air but from what she could pick up, 'it was for the best,' and 'they're going to a better place.' Larchkit had heard those phrases a lot when Hollykit and Shrewpaw died so she wasn't so sure about this 'journey.'

"Larchkit!" Birchkit squeaked when he saw his sister. There were three kits behind him; Marshkit, Toadkit, and Applekit. Larchkit hadn't properly met any of them because of how hectic camp life would be but her brother looked like she got along with them.

"Have you heard? We're going on a journey!" Applekit called as they raced to meet Larchkit.

"That's all I've heard lately but no one will tell me where we're going!" Larchkit wailed loud enough for some nearby WindClan elders to hear. They shook their heads at the loud kits before standing and walking to a different area of the crowded camp.

"From what I've heard, we're going to a new place! It's going to be way better than this place and there won't be any monsters to attack us," Marshkit purred. "I'm excited! The monsters were scary…"

"_Real_ warriors don't admit fear," Toadkit boasted. "And I wasn't scared."

"Were too!" Marshkit yelled, playfully cuffing his brother over the ear. The two started play fighting but eventually broke away in fits of giggles.

"No matter how hungry and tired they are, they always have enough energy to get in the way." Larchkit looked up to see Leafpaw and Cinderpelt padding towards them with bundles of leaves in their mouths. They set them down when they reached the kits.

Larchkit cautiously padded up to inspect the herbs. At first, she prodded them and then slowly leaned down to sniff them. "Ew!" Larchkit wrinkled her nose and pulled away. "Those smell like… badger dung."

Ferncloud shot Larchkit a look when she appeared outside the nursery. "You've never seen a badger."

Cinderpelt chuckled and nudged the herbs forward. "They may not smell the best but you have to eat them. They'll make you big and strong."

Birchkit was the first to try lapping up the leaves but the second they touched his tongue, he spat them back out. "They taste like crow-food!"

"And you've never had crow-food," Ferncloud added. "I swear, you kits are so imaginative that you probably believe half the things you say. Now do as Cinderpelt says and eat your herbs."

"Why do we have to eat these?" Applekit whined. "Can't we just eat prey instead? I'm sure that will make us more strong then a couple of nasty leaves ever will."

"Applekit, eat," Tallpoppy ordered sternly. The little she-kit sighed and started to lap up the herbs, making sure her mother knew how disgusting they were with every bite.

Larchkit didn't say anything as she began to chew on the herbs as well. They were gross and they didn't do anything to fill her empty belly but for some reason, her mother looked much more relieved when she and Birchkit finished wallowing their portions.

"Now, they're all ready for the journey," Ferncloud purred. She had traces of doubt in her voice but she was trying to stay positive for not only her kits, but also Tallpoppy.

Larchkit sighed ad stamped her paw on the ground defiantly. "Will someone please tell me what this journey is that everyone is talking about?"

Ferncloud and Tallpoppy shared another one of their 'looks' but this time, Ferncloud nodded. She turned to her kits with a kind smile on her face. "Larchkit, Birchkit… we're leaving this forest. We're going to a new home."

**Okay so this is the story I wrote for NaNoWriMo. I won - meaning I wrote 50k in a month - but my wifi went out and I couldn't validate it so on the website it says that I was like 1000 away from winning -_- oh well, I know I won. Anyway, I'll be posting a chapter every other day until I run out of chapters, and then I'll start doing weekly updates.**

**That being said, I won't reply to any reviews unless through PM if you have a question and there won't be any Question of the Day's like I usually do. So, with all that out of the way, I hope you enjoy, please review, and I would like to thank tr1xx777 for letting me adopt this wonderful fic!**


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Two

The next few days were a blur for Larchkit.

She vaguely remembered a dog, seeing a monster race past them, and staying in what everyone was calling a 'barn.' She didn't care what it was called; there was plenty of mice and for the first time in what seemed like her whole life, Larchkit was wasn't hungry.

And that was also the one night where she hadn't dreamt about her sister or brother. She had dreamt about catching mice and living every day as comfortably as they did in that barn.

"Why can't we just stay here?" Larchkit asked Ferncloud one day as they lay in the hay.

"Because this isn't our home," Ferncloud answered easily. Larchkit was still confused so she continued. "Look around Larchkit, do you see how crowded it is in here?"

Larchkit looked around the barn. It was big but with all the cats filling it, there was barely any room to move. Some cats were even up above, standing on what looked like branches but were too straight to be natural. Every inch of hay was occupied by elders and kits and even then, they were basically laying on top of each other.

"It may see like paradise after what we've just been through, but trust me, the novelty of it all will wear off. Besides, this is Ravenpaw and Barley's home. How would you feel if a group of cats just walked in and took over your home?" Ferncloud purred.

"But they did? Well, Twolegs did at least…" Ferncloud's smile faltered slightly at her daughters words. "It didn't feel very good though."

"And that's why we can't stay here," Ferncloud finished. Larchkit nodded with understanding before falling asleep on the soft hay, cuddled up to her mother and brother. She didn't sleep for long before she woke up to talk with the other kits but the small bit of sleep that she had helped.

But staying in the barn only lasted about a day before they were on the move again, travelling as a singular form to a destination that none of them knew about. They didn't know where they were going or what it'd be like when they got there, but they were going anyway.

The only word that Larchkit kept on hearing was 'mountains.' Back in ThunderClan, she could see the mountains from a distance but they had always looked small. But as they walked closer and closer to them, she started to realize how huge they actually were.

They were bigger than any tree or boulder she had ever seen and no matter how far she looked, she couldn't see the end of them. And the more they walked up the mountains, the colder it got.

Larchkit was freezing as she padded behind some warriors. Ferncloud was carrying Birchkit who had been walking since the barn while Larchkit was being carried. She was walking beside a black apprentice; she didn't know his name or Clan but their pelts were brushing enough to keep her warm.

But that's when the cracking started. Suddenly, the ground disappeared under Larchkit and she let a shrill scream as she tried digging her claws into the smooth rock as it broke away. Little rocks tumbled down, making it hard to get a grip.

Over the sound of blood pumping in her ears, she could hear someone screaming before it was abruptly cut off and someone new started wailing in despair. Larchkit's eyes briefly glanced down to see a motionless body laying down, down, down the side of the cliff.

It was the apprentice she had been walking with. Within a matter of moments, his life had ended and Larchkit risked the same fate.

"Help me!" Larchkit screamed as she continued to slip. Just as her tiny claws lost all grip they had, she felt someone sink their teeth into her scruff and haul her away from the large hole created in the path.

When her saviour set her on the ground, all she could do was press her body as close to the wall as possible and squeeze her eyes shut. She couldn't get the image of the apprentice's body at the bottom of the cliff and far it looked to fall.

She couldn't help but imagine what it would be like to fall for eternity before her body slammed against the ground, cracking her skull open and snapping her neck like a twig.

"Larchkit, can you open your eyes?" a kind voice asked and the kit quickly shook her head. If she opened them, she would only see how high the ledge they were on was. "It's okay, you're safe now."

His voice was familiar but not so much that she heard it on a daily basis like her parents of Birchkit. She could feel a tongue rasping over her ears to try and calm her down.

"Larchkit, we need to keep moving, so can you please try and open your eyes? I promise if you do, I won't let anything happen to you," the voice promised. Larchkit frowned and her eyelids fluttered, but didn't open.

"Promise? I can walk with you for the rest of the trip?" Larchkit squeaked.

"Yes," he answered. Slowly, Larchkit let her eyes open to see a pale gray tom with brilliant amber eyes. It was Sootfur, a young warrior in ThunderClan who she had never really talked with much before. "See? Nothing bad happened."

"Yet," Larchkit stated pointedly and the older tom laughed. She hadn't meant for it to be funny.

"Well I won't let anything happen. Now c'mon, your mother is probably worried sick," he purred. He nudged her along the path, keeping her closer to the ledge wall so there was no way she could look down and freak out again.

But still, every paw steps was stiff and her wide green eyes were filled to the brim with terror. He needed to make her forget about how high up she was at least until they made it off this ledge. "You were really brave back there," he tried.

"I screamed and wouldn't open my eyes," Larchkit ducked her head. "That's not brave… If I were brave I wouldn't have been afraid."

"Bravery doesn't mean you can't be scared. It means being able to overcome your fears and you did that in a matter of moments. That's pretty brave if you ask me," he nudged her gently as they walked. Her claws were unsheathed, clicking on the hard black rock wherever they walked. If the ground was to give out again, she wanted to be ready.

Larchkit didn't answer the tom but she had relaxed a little more. She kept her blue eyes trained ahead so she wouldn't be tempted to peer off the ledge and her fur wasn't bristled in fear anymore, but just to keep warm. It seemed like she had been cold her whole life and once she got a taste of warmth after spending the night in the barn, she couldn't forget the addictive feeling. All she wanted was to be warm again.

"What are you scared of?" Larchkit finally asked and the tom glanced at her in mild surprise at her question.

Finally, he answered, "Badgers. I was on a patrol that was attacked by a badger when I was an apprentice. I wasn't hurt but my mother, Willowpelt, was killed…" he trailed off as pain flashed across his face. Sootfur honestly didn't know why he was telling her this – she was just a kit – but was thankful when she didn't press the subject.

"I'm sorry," Larchkit murmured. "I'm scared of heights because of this one time when I almost fell off a cliff. Someone caught me but I could have died," she told him with wide eyes. Sootfur couldn't help but laugh. That 'one time' was barely a few minutes ago.

"Yeah, I vaguely remember that," he sniggered and Larchkit couldn't help but join in.

The two chatted quietly as they travelled side by side. Larchkit told Sootfur a little about Cody, the kittypet who had taken care of her and Birchkit, and he told her some stories about when he was a kit with his sister, Sorreltail, and brother, Rainwhisker. Finally, after what seemed like a moon of travelling – or at least for Larchkit – they entered a new area. On one side of them was a steep cliff that seemed to travel forever, and the other was another slope, but this one had a little grass on the top.

"Clans, we're taking a break!" Tawnypelt announced. "Brambleclaw will organize hunting patrols and if anyone is injured, go see Cinderpelt or Littlecloud. Queens, try to rest and warm up your kits."

"Larchkit?" Ferncloud called out, as if noticing for the first time that her kit wasn't beside her anymore. She was hungry and cold and it was making her not as aware as she used to be.

"She's over here," Sootfur replied calmly, stepping aside to reveal the kit. "She's been keeping me company on the way here."

Thinking she had been annoying the warrior, Ferncloud turned to her kit with a disapproving scowl on her face. "Larchkit, how many times do I have to tell you to stay out of everyone's way?"

"No, no, it's fine," Sootfur butted in before Larchkit could be reprimanded any more. "It was nice talking to someone and she wasn't bothering me. She's good company."

Ferncloud eyes Sootfur wearily to check if he was lying but when she realized that he was being truthful, he turned back to her kit. Larchkit's chest was puffed out and she looked more proud than a warrior after their ceremony. "I think you owe me an apology," Larchkit mewed and the two older cats couldn't help but laugh.

Ferncloud dipped her head sarcastically, "Oh Larchkit, I apologize for offending you and assuming you were annoying everyone with your constant talking."

Larchkit's ears flattened against her head as she huffed, "Hey! I don't talk _that_ much!" That only caused the warriors to laugh more. It was refreshing though; with so much sadness and tension between the Clans, it was nice to hear laughter, even if the situation wasn't exactly pleasant.

But when Leafpaw approached, Birchkit dangling in her jaws, the laughter died down. Birchkit was mewling about being cold and missing Cody but he was very much alive. The medicine cat apprentice gently set the tom down and Ferncloud instantly pulled him close to her body, she grabbed Larchkit by her scruff and pulled her close as well. Birchkit was _freezing_!

"Can't you two just stick together like normal kits?" Ferncloud huffed as she nuzzled her son. "Thank you for bringing him back; it's so hard to watch the both of them with so many cats around."

"It's no problem," Leafpaw said, shrugging. "How are they?"

"Fine… for now. I'm scared about when the snow starts to fall though. Their fur isn't thick enough to keep them warm on their own," Ferncloud fretted. "I can't lose them too."

"Ferncloud, they'll be fine," Leafpaw reassured confidently.

"Yeah, they have four Clans looking after them," Sootfur added. "Even the other Clans will put away their differences to make sure these kits make it through these mountains alive. If you need anything, you can just ask and someone will be sure to get it for you as soon as possible."

"We need food," Ferncloud muttered. Sootfur nodded and stood up out of his sitting position.

"I'll go join a patrol now. Brambleclaw is teaching everyone to hunt like some 'Tribe,'" he said, snorting at the thought. As he walked away, he mumbled something under his breath about how they should hunt like Clan cats, not Tribe cats. Larchkit didn't even know what a Tribe was but by the way he made it sound, it wasn't anything good.

Birchkit yawned and snuggled closer to his mother, "Mama, I'm tired." When the words left his mouth, Larchkit couldn't help but yawn as well. She was exhausted!

"It's okay to sleep," Ferncloud purred. "I'll wake you when we start to travel again."

Birchkit slurred some incoherent words as he drifted off to sleep. Larchkit closed her eyes as well but the voices of some familiar cats caught her attention. It was Sootfur and Thornclaw, chatting a few foxlengths away. From what Sootfur told her on their walk, Thornclaw had been his mentor after Longtail was blinded and the two were fairly close. He had also been Shrewpaw's mentor.

"I see you've made a friend," Thornclaw sniggered.

"Who, Larchkit? Sure, I mean I guess we moved past the acquaintance stage after I saved her from nearly falling to her death," he shrugged. "She's nice though; it's funny to listen to her talk."

"Aw, Sootfur's caught himself a mate!" Thornclaw teased.

Sootfur snorted and replied dryly, "Funny. That's your best one yet. And for the record, that's a little disgusting. She's what, three moons old?" _Four actually_. "No, she's like a little, clumsy sister to me."

A sister. A _little_ sister. A little, _clumsy_ sister.

For reasons unknown to Larchkit, she hated those words. She didn't want to be little or clumsy, and she definitely didn't want to be his sister! That word just didn't seem right relating to Sootfur. But for the life of her, she couldn't figure out why that bothered her so much.

She just couldn't figure out that this was the start of her falling in love.

**A/N: Sorry that this is a day late but I didn't get back until like 9 yesterday so I wouldn't have had time to reread, revise, and update until it was late. But I hope you guys enjoy it! :) Tell me your thoughts! **


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter Three

Larchkit woke up the next morning, colder than she'd ever been and covered in a thin blanket of snow. Sometime during her sleep, it had started snowing and even though Ferncloud tried desperately to shelter her, the barren terrain was unforgiving and both her kits were frozen to the bone.

"M-mama?" Larchkit's teeth chattered as she tried curling closer to her mother. Ferncloud was already awake but she was as cold as her kits and she cat's providing much warmth. "I'm s-so cold."

"I know, I'm sorry. Your father should be back soon and when he does get back, he can warm you up," Ferncloud nuzzled her daughter. Birchkit was only slightly warmer than Larchkit but even with their combined body heat, the mountain air was too bitter for them.

"I-I don't know i-if I can h-hold on that l-l-long," Larchkit chattered and Ferncloud's face dropped for a moment before breaking out in sheer terror. She could _not_ lose another kit!

"Leafpaw! Cinderpelt!" Ferncloud wailed, trying to get someone's attention. Sootfur and a WindClan she-cat named Robinwing were closest, running to her. "Please, someone go get help! My kits are freezing!"

Robinwing lightly touched Ferncloud. "You're freezing too. Sootfur and I will stay with the kits while you go get help. We have thicker fur than you anyway so they'll warm up faster with us."

Ferncloud shot Robinwing a suspicious look but Sootfur calmed her by putting a reassuring tail on her shoulder. "It is okay, Ferncloud. We won't let anything happen to them."

Ferncloud nodded as she pulled away from her kits, making them both cry when their little source of heat was taken from them. But not a heartbeat later, Sootfur was wrapped around Larchkit and Robinwing around Birchkit.

They were right; their thick fur was significantly warmer than Ferncloud's. The pale she-cat had clambered to her paws and raced away in search of someone to save her kits.

"How are you feeling, Larchkit? Just keep talking to me, okay?" Sootfur asked seriously and the kit just managed a small nod. She felt like she was made of ice and if she made any big movements, she'd shatter.

"S-so cold," Larchkit whispered and buried her face in Sootfur's soft pelt. She closed her eyes and breathed in his smell; he smelt like all the Clans mixed together but the strongest scent was a comforting forest-y smell. ThunderClan smell.

"It's going to be okay. Cinderpelt will be here soon and you won't be so cold anymore," Sootfur soothed. She could vaguely hear Robinwing whispering comforting words to her brother as well. "Just try to stay awake."

"C-cold," Larchkit repeated. Her eyelids were starting to feel droopy but she desperately tried to keep them open. If not for her, for Sootfur.

"I know, we all are," Sootfur murmured. "How about a story while we wait? You can help me make it up." Kits love stories, right?

Larchkit slowly nodded again as he began. His story telling skills weren't really the strongest but for a single tom who's never talked to a kit before, he thought he did pretty well. "Okay, once upon a time, there was a cat named-"

"F-Frozenkit," she piped up. She could feel his muscles tensing under his pelt but he went on.

"Frozenkit," he repeated. "So Frozenkit was a very mean cat. He'd-"

"She," Larchkit butted in. "F-Frozenkit the… she-cat." She was stuttering and shivering so bad that she was starting to leave out words in her sentences.

"Okay, so Frozenkit the She-cat was a very mean cat. She went around throwing rocks and-"

"F-frogs." Sootfur chuckled as he went on.

"-throwing rocks and frogs at everyone she didn't like. But then one day, a beautiful she-cat named…" he trailed off, hoping she'd pick up where he was going and fill in her own name. Kits liked it when they were the centre of attention so he was sure she would like being the 'beautiful hero' in their story.

But instead, she answered, "Sootfur."

"What?" Sootfur gasped. "I'm not a beautiful she-cat!"

"H-her name is Sootfur," Larchkit replied defiantly. He sighed but couldn't help but notice that her chatter was starting to die down and she was finally starting to warm up.

"Fine, a beautiful she-cat named Sootfur, decided to stop Frozenkit the She-cat. So one day, she snuck up behind Frozenkit the She-cat and attacked her. And the second Sootfur touched Frozenkit the She-cat, the evil cat melted away because Sootfur's so hot."

From beside them, Robinwing snorted. "Is that your weird way of boosting your own ego?"

"Hey, I'm not the one who brought my name into the story," Sootfur sniggered just as three distressed cats appeared; Ferncloud, Dustpelt, and Cinderpelt.

"They've warmed up quite a bit but we need to find them shelter," Robinwing reported to the mother. "And soon. Marshkit's been getting worse as well."

"Marshkit?" Birchkit repeated tiredly. Larchkit felt the same. She was beyond exhausted and her eyelids felt like they weighed the same as the mountains, themselves.

"He was picked up by an eagle yesterday by Brackenfur saved him. He's fine but he needs shelter," Cinderpelt responded. "We all do. That eagle's not dead yet and who knows who he'll try and snatch up next?"

"Cinderpelt…scare…kits…" Larchkit was going in and out of consciousness so fast that she was starting to miss parts of Ferncloud's sentences. All she could hear was her mother's scolding tone.

"Larch…awake…" Sootfur mewed as the kit blinked a few times. She only managed to keep her green eyes open long enough to see the panicked expressions on everyone's faces before she passed out.

Larchkit woke up to see three faces staring down at her. Once she blinked a few times, she made out Birchkit, Toadkit, and Applekit's smiling faces. But they weren't outside anymore and Larchkit was no longer freezing.

"Am I in StarClan?" Larchkit whispered and the kits broke out in fits of giggles.

"No, of course not!" Applekit laughed, playfully cuffing Larchkit over the ear. "You're in the Tribe of Something!"

"That was my next guess," Larchkit replied dryly. She didn't listen to Toadkit's response though and glanced around the cave they were in. It was dark and she had to blink a few times to get used to the lighting but once she did, she realized how crowded it was.

It was like being back in Barley and Ravenpaw's barn only it was a cave and the smell of fat mice running around wasn't as strong; actually in the Tribe of Something, it was nonexistent.

"What happened?" Larchkit asked, sitting up. She could see many familiar faces like Squirrelpaw talking to Spiderpaw, Brambleclaw eating some freakishly large bird with some other cats, and her mother was laying pressed against Dustpelt.

"You fell asleep and everyone freaked out. Then a bunch of cats ran in and saved Toadkit from an eagle. They took us here and we've been waiting forever for you to wake up!" Birchkit explained, wailing a little at the end. A few cats nearby shot him some glares because of how loud he was being while others were trying to sleep.

The elders and queens were sleeping in some nests while the warriors were dozing on the ground. Larchkit could spot a small, silver tabby tom curled up in a ball with some poultice on his shoulder; Marshkit.

"Larchkit!" she turned to see Spiderpaw, her brother, standing a little off to the side with a ShadowClan apprentice. "It's about time you woke up. You've been sleeping all day and night! In fact, it's almost morning… I think at least. It's kind of hard to see outside."

"Can't you just glance out?" Larchkit asked pointedly and the ShadowClan tom sniggered at her sassiness.

"Not when there's a waterfall in front of it," the tom pointed out. Larchkit glanced at the cave entrance to see a wall of water covering it. She hadn't even noticed the sound of the water crashing down. "It's been snowing all day too so I wouldn't be surprised if we woke up to a wall of ice in the morning."

"Moving water doesn't freeze," a strange cat piped up. She must have been part of the Tribe. She turned to Larchkit, "It's good to see you're awake. Now all we need is that poor tom to wake up."

By 'poor tom' she probably meant Marshkit. Or maybe even Tallstar since he wasn't looking so great lately.

"Marshkit's been getting all the attention," Toadkit muttered under his breath with bitterness clear in his voice. He glanced scornfully off to the side and kneaded the ground with his paws.

"Maybe we can go see if he can play with us?" Larchkit offered and Toadkit's eyes brightened significantly.

"Sure!" Applekit squeaked and the patrol of kits started running towards where the tom was snoozing. Larchkit was at the back of the group since she was still waking up after her deep sleep. It didn't matter how slow she was though because Tallpoppy stepped in front of Marshkit anyway.

"He needs his rest!" she snapped and lightly batted Toadkit away. She wasn't trying to be rude about it but her son still looked hurt. "You can play with him once he's healed but for now, you're going to just play with yourselves."

"Fine," Applekit grumbled as her ears dropped. While they started to pad away, Larchkit hung back. She looked up at Tallpoppy, who was eyeing her wearily as she crept forward.

In Barley and Ravenpaw's den, Larchkit and Marshkit had stayed up late talking about their new home. It was the one time they ever did talk but Larchkit found herself growing fond of the tom and she only wants him to be okay.

Larchkit licked the kit a few time over the ears and whispered, "Get well soon, Marshkit. Then we can go play in the mountains together," she purred. Tallpoppy's face softened when she realized that the ThunderClan kit wasn't there to harm her son.

"He'll be awake soon enough and I'll call you over soon but for now, I think it's best if you went and played with the others," she whispered softly and Larchkit nodded. She really didn't like being herded away but at least Tallpoppy was being a little nicer about it.

Larchkit padded over to where the other kits were sitting in silence and plopped down next to Toadkit. After a few moments, Applekit turned to Birchkit, "Hey Birchkit, what do you want your warrior name to be?"

"Birchstar!" Birchkit grinned and Applekit shot him a look.

"You can't be Birchstar. Only leaders can be stars!" she argued. Soon enough, the two were in a full-out argument about whether Birchkit was good enough to skip the warrior rank and go straight to leadership. All while Larchkit and Toadkit sat silently by the side.

While Toadkit was moping about how Marshkit was getting all the attention, Larchkit was glaring past him at two cats, excitedly talking at the back of the cave; Sootfur and Robinwing. She watched as Robinwing playfully batted the tom and he let his head fall back as he laughed.

'_She's not even that pretty…_'

"Larchkit?" Toadkit questioned but the brown tabby didn't move her gaze. He turned around to see what she was glaring at and a smile fell on his face when he spotted the pair of friends. She was jealous!

"You know, if you want to impress Sootfur, you have to do something really brave," Toadkit smirked and Larchkit finally let her eyes flick back to the younger kits.

"Like what?" Larchkit asked.

"Like, I don't know, catch an _eagle_," he purred. "Imagine their faces if we were to come back to camp with an eagle in our jaws? We'd be heroes!"

"Toadkit, that's a mouse-brained idea," Larchkit snorted rolling her eyes. She glanced once back at the couple in the back and felt the jealousy in her stomach grow. "Well, saying that we _were_ to go off, how hard do you think it'd be to catch an eagle?"

Toadkit's smirk widened. "I saw the Tribe cats do it, it can't be that hard. So are you in then?"

Larchkit frowned. It was a mouse-brained plan and they would probably get killed, not to mention going outside would mean going back in the cold. But then again, Larchkit also wasn't the most rational of cats and she tended to be quite impulsive… "I'm in."

The kits stood up and did a quick look around the room to check to see that no one was looking before they casually started the entrance. The figured if they acted normal enough, someone would just think they're two young warriors going out for a hunt.

And somehow, it worked.

Across the cave, Sootfur was laughing at a story Robinwing was telling him. They had bonded early that morning after a hunt and decided to keep each other company on the journey. There wasn't anything romantic about their friendship but Ashfur couldn't help but put in his thoughts as he, Thornclaw, and Rainwhisker padded up to them.

"Don't let your mate see you," Ashfur teased. "She might call you out."

"Mate?" Robinwing cocked her head. "I haven't seen you talk to any females."

"Sure you have," Thornclaw joined in on the banter. "She's just a little… little."

By now, Robinwing was utterly confused as she glanced at each tom separately and then back to Sootfur who was ducking his head in embarrassment.

"Where is your mate anyway?" Rainwhisker teased. "She's probably angry since you've been flirting with all these she-cats."

"For StarClan's sake, who is she?" Robinwing gasped, exasperated and the three toms broke into fits of laughter. "Why are you laughing?"

"I don't have a mate," Sootfur muttered. "They're just bugging me because I've been nice to Larchkit a few times."

"Larchkit?" Robinwing sniggered. "Don't you think she's a little young?"

Sootfur rolled his amber eyes and sighed dramatically. "Not you too." It only made the light brown she-cat to laugh harder.

She glanced around the room. "Where is the lucky lady? I want to properly meet her." Robinwing scanned the cave, her eyes flickering from Marshkit to Applekit to Birchkit but she couldn't find the familiar brown tabby or the other ShadowClan kitten, Toadkit. "No, seriously, where is she? I don't see her or Toadkit."

Rainwhisker turned and started searching the faces, trying to find the ThunderClan kit. "She was sleeping just a few moments ago. Do you think we should tell Ferncloud?"

"Not yet," Thornclaw answered seriously. "Let's all do a quick walk around the cave and ask the kits. If they don't know where she is – or Toadkit – then we tell Firestar and Blackstar. They'll deal with the mothers."

The group stood up and hurriedly started walking around the cramped room. A few cats watched them, sensing the tension in the air. Ashfur was the one to go up to Birchkit, "Hey, where's your sister?"

"With Toadkit," Birchkit answered with admiration in his eyes. Ashfur was one of his idols!

"And where would that be?" Ashfur asked, growing impatient. Birchkit opened his mouth to answer before frowning and wildly looking around the cave,

"They were just here a moment ago," he squeaked. "Hey, where's Toadkit?"

Thornclaw appeared by the gray tom's side a few heartbeat's later. "I couldn't find them."

"Neither could I," Robinwing reported as she approached them. Sootfur appeared a second later, shaking his head. Only Rainwhisker hadn't come back but they only needed to glance at the cave entrance to see him standing by it, his eyes wide and his jaw dropped.

"Rainwhisker, what did you find?" Thornclaw asked.

"Their scent. It leads outside," he said and everyone froze. It was perfect timing for Firestar to appear with Blackstar not far behind.

"Is everything okay? You five looked worried and some cats are getting nervous," Firestar asked worriedly as the group all looked down. Only Sootfur met the leader directly in the eyes. He glanced in between the ThunderClan leader and Blackstar.

"Firestar, Blackstar, I don't mean to alarm you but I think… I think we may have lost some kits."


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter Four

It was cold.

The second Larchkit hopped out from beneath the waterfall and landed in a pile of snow, she was hit by cold winds, pelting flakes of snow at her. The snow was deep too and it was brushing at her belly. Toadkit, being just a little bigger than Larchkit, was able to hop around the snow easier.

"C'mon, let's go!" he mewed, jumping over small drifts of snow. "I know which way we came!"

Larchkit hopped after her friend with worry pricking at her pelt. "Are you sure this is a good idea, Toadkit? Maybe we could just go back inside and _tell_ everyone we caught an eagle."

"With nothing to show for it? No way!"

'_I knew this was a bad idea…_' Larchkit thought to herself. But instead of pressing the subject, she just did her best to keep up with Toadkit. She figured that even if they didn't end up with an eagle to show for it, he at least wouldn't get lost without her.

Or so she thought.

They rounded a corner and Toadkit stopped dead in his tracks. "Uh, actually this isn't the right way. I meant to go over here." His words were confident but Larchkit could see the doubt flicker in his eyes as he led her in the opposite direction.

"Toadkit, let's just go back," Larchkit pleaded. "It's snowing so bad that we wouldn't even be able to see an eagle if it was right in front of us."

Toadkit didn't say anything to her as he continued in the direction of the eagle. Larchkit looked around her to see if she could get a feel of where she was but instead of seeing high cliffs and waterfall caves, all she saw was white.

She twisted around to see if maybe she could follow her own trail but her paw prints were already starting to fill in. Larchkit started to say something but when she turned back, Toadkit was nowhere to be seen.

"Toadkit?" she mewed softly. The wind drowned out the sound of her voice. "This isn't funny!" she yelled louder.

No reply.

Fear bit at Larchkit's paws stronger than the cold as she started to circle around, looking for her friend. He had disappeared.

Larchkit continued to wade through the snow, looking for anything that would help her remember where she was. But it was hard in the storm and even worse when she didn't know where she was. Every few fox-lengths, there would be deep drifts of snow that Larchkit would have to attempt leaping over but would end up halfway over before falling in the deepest part of it all. She was simply too small and too tired to get over them.

"Ferncloud!" Larchkit wailed, collapsing under her numb paws. "Ferncloud, help!"

She sniffled and curled up into a ball, not knowing what else to do. "Dustpelt?" she whimpered out.

The snow fell over her, covering her with a thin sheet in a few moments.

"Anybody?"

A short distance away in a cave, a large group of cats sat worriedly in front of their leaders, waiting for orders to find the kits. "Sootfur, Thornclaw, Rainwhisker and Ashfur, you go the way we came. Maybe they tried heading back home. Sandstorm, Brambleclaw, and Spiderpaw, you try tracking their scent. Graystripe-" the leader cut off, realizing his deputy wasn't there.

"Rowanclaw, take a patrol and follow the trail we haven't taken yet. Tawnypelt, follow the stream. And Russetfur-" Blackstar started but was cut off when Brook stepped forward.

"Wait!" she yowled. "It's too dangerous out there for Clan cats. Let us help."

"Brook, no," Stormfur tried, stepping towards the pretty she-cat. "You can't keep risking your lives for the Clans."

"Feathertail gave her life for the Tribe. It's about time we repaid the favor." With that, she turned away from the tom and to her leader, Stoneteller. "They don't know the mountain as well as we do and we're used to tracking in snowstorms. They need our help."

"Brook is right," Stoneteller mewed. He turned to his own cats and begun ordering them and making patrols. It didn't take long before he turned back to Firestar and Blackstar. "We will find those kits, I promise you that."

It was like a wave spilling out of the cave as the cats ran out, leaping confidently off the ledge and racing through the snow. It was getting deeper with each passing heartbeat and when they looked back, they could barely make out the cave through the snow.

Once they were outside, the patrols split up, all going in their separate directions. Sootfur ran alongside his brother as they raced in the direction they had come from the night before. The pale tom looked around but he couldn't see anything, let alone the missing kits.

"Wait, do you hear that?" Ashfur stopped, his ears twitching. Everyone stopped to listen but all they could hear was the wind blowing and the water crashing, though even that was faint.

"I don't hear anything," Rainwhisker admitted.

"Listen, I hear something," Ashfur insisted and they fell into silence once more. The wind died down for a second and they could hear what the tom had pointed out. It sounded like someone crying. Without another word, the patrol broke out into a sprint, racing towards where the noise was coming from. Soft flakes sprung into the sky wherever they stepped but were quickly blown away by the strong wind.

"Larchkit! Larchkit!" They could hear the calls more clearly now; it was Toadkit, the ShadowClan kit. "Larchkit!"

They rounded a corner to see the young tom, drenched to the bone in water which had frozen and covered in frost. "L-Larchkit?"

"We have to get him back to the cave," Thornclaw stated. "He'll die if he stays out here."

"But what about Larchkit?" Rainwhisker asked. "She'll die if she stays out here, too."

"There are other patrols. But for now, we have to get him back inside," Thornclaw said firmly and without any space for them to argue, he turned and ran, carrying Toadkit in his jaws. The kit was almost an icicle and he had stopped crying out and has now only whimpering softly. As Thornclaw ran, he could barely hear him whisper, "Larchkit."

Thornclaw leapt into the cave, getting sprayed lightly with water as he landed on the rocky floor. Sootfur was behind him and then Ashfur. "Rainwhisker joined Rowanclaw's patrol. He wanted to keep looking for Larchkit," Ashfur explained.

"My son!" Tallpoppy wailed as she ran towards the kit. She wrapped her body around his cold one and nuzzled him affectionately. "Why'd you do that? I was so worried!"

"I wanted to catch an eagle," Toadkit croaked as Leafpaw and Cinderpelt approached him. Under his mother's watchful eye, they began rubbing his fur the wrong way to try and heat him up. The frost on his fur had started to melt but he was still unnaturally cold. "But then I fell in the water and lost Larchkit."

Ferncloud, who was standing nearby, looked heartbroken and her ears fell. "You mean you haven't found Larchkit?"

"We'll find her Ferncloud," Sootfur promised. Under his breath, he added, "And then I'm going to kill her myself for nearly dying twice in two days."

"Should we go back out there to look for her?" Ashfur asked. "The other patrols might need our help."

Sootfur grunted and pulled himself to his paws, sighing. As much as he didn't want to go look for the lost kit, he knew he had to. He turned around to leave when a familiar face landed in the entrance, white pieces of snow clinging to his dark pelt. His blue eyes were full of worry but the thing that stood out the most was the small kit dangling from his jaws; Larchkit.

Ferncloud raced to her kit and much like Tallpoppy had, wrapped herself around Larchkit, trying to warm her daughter up. She looked up at the warrior with warm gratitude in her eyes. He ducked his head, not wanting to be smothered in thanks. "I found her on my way to meet up with Rowanclaw's patrol. She was covered in snow and I literally tripped over her, thinking she was a rock."

"Thank you, Rainwhisker," Dustpelt dipped his head to the younger tom. "We'll never forget this."

"It was no problem," Rainwhisker muttered, ducking his head. "I was just doing what anyone would have done."

Dustpelt nodded and didn't say anything else about the situation but they both tuned in to what Ferncloud was saying to her kit. "Larchkit, why would you do something like that? You could have died! I couldn't have handled losing another kit so soon after…" she trailed off.

"I wanted to catch an eagle," Larchkit whispered. "I just wanted to impress you." Her green eyes flickered to her parents and then to Sootfur but quickly back to Ferncloud.

"By getting yourself killed?" Ferncloud shrieked. "If you want to impress us, that's not the way to go about doing it!"

"But I thought-"

"No, that's just it, Larchkit," Dustpelt interrupted. "You didn't _think_! You made a decision on impulse and nearly got yourself and others killed out of it!"

"I'm sorry," Larchkit whimpered. "I didn't mean to hurt anyone." Her eyes flickered back to Sootfur and he just shook his head.

"Larchkit, you could have been killed," Sootfur breathed. "We're very disappointed in you."

Larchkit flinched back as if she had been struck. Sure, her parents had told her that before when she put rabbit droppings in Hollykit's bedding or when she used a mouse as a play-item but no one else had ever called her that. _Sootfur_ had never called her that.

"Larchkit, we're going to be leaving today to continue the journey. Now get some rest and try to eat something before we go. We don't know how long it will take for us to get a decent meal," Ferncloud said firmly and for once, the rebellious kit simply nodded and followed her mother to the nests. But as she curled up next to her, eating chewed up pieces of prey, she couldn't get her mind off what Sootfur had said to her.

She was a disappointment.

And that hurt more than any claw could.

It couldn't have been more than a few hours but to Larchkit, it felt like moons of being trapped in her own thoughts and self-pity. She stayed in one place for those 'moons' thinking over what Sootfur had said and thinking about how she ruined everything. He would never forgive her for this.

When the time finally did come to leave, Larchkit still wasn't feeling any better about the situation. She felt lonely and upset and wouldn't even talk to Birchkit when he asked if they could walk together. Dustpelt wouldn't have allowed it anyway; he made sure Larchkit was right beside him the whole time.

It had stopped snowing and the sun was finally starting to shine through the clouds. Like before, the four Clans travelled as a one and Larchkit just followed where everyone else went. Well, at least she did once they got away from Tribe territory. The snow was too deep for her and Dustpelt had to carry her but after that, she was able to walk fine on her own.

Larchkit dragged her paws through the snow, letting her tail create a trail of its own and ignoring the biting cold that came with it. At first, Dustpelt let his daughter mope but after a while, he just couldn't ignore it anymore. If Larchkit was upset, he had to know the reason. "Larchkit what is the matter?" he finally asked.

Larchkit merely shrugged without a verbal response. She didn't want to talk about it, she just wanted to feel sad for herself a little longer.

"Larchkit," Dustpelt tried again. "Please tell me what's wrong. If I don't know then I can't help."

Larchkit sighed in defeat. "I'm a disappointment… Sootfur even said so."

"That's not what he meant, Larchkit," Dustpelt assured. "What you did was reckless and disappoint_ing_ but he doesn't think any less of you. Why would that bother you so much anyway?"

Larchkit shrugged again. "I don't know, I just really care about what he thinks of me. I really want him to like me and I want to be the best I can for him. I don't even know what it means." She kicked a stone and watched as it bounced down the slope they were on.

Dustpelt sighed. He knew this day would come but he wished it hadn't come so quickly. "Oh Larchkit, what am I going to do with you?"

"I don't know, maybe tell me what to do?" she sassed, earning herself a dirty look. She ducked her head. "Sorry."

"Let's… let's evaluate the situation. Do you feel like there's something moving around in your tummy whenever you see him?" Dustpelt asked and his daughter paused before nodding. "Does he make you happy?" Another nod. "Does his opinion matter a lot to you?" One final nod. "Ah, I see."

"What?" Larchkit squeaked. "What is it?"

"Sadly, you're in love. I caught it at the early stages but unfortunately, it only goes downhill from here," Dustpelt answered with a frown. It seemed like only yesterday he was huddled around his three suckling kits. With Larchkit being his only daughter, he was praying that this day would never come – but instead, it came faster than he'd ever seen. He would have to keep a close eye on her, especially since she inherited her mother's good looks.

"Well what do I do about it?" Larchkit asked.

"You don't do anything about it!" Dustpelt snapped, though he didn't sound angry. Just protective. "Not until you're older and then I _suppose_ – after I approve and see what his intentions are - you can become his mate if you're still interested." And then he grumbled under his breath, "Over my dead body will I approve."

"Hm," Larchkit hummed to herself. "How do you become someone's mate?"

"Oh no," Dustpelt vigorously shook his head. "I've already said enough and I will _not_ be the reason my daughter becomes the first kit to get a mate."

"I meant when I'm older," Larchkit whined. "Can't you just give me tips that I can work on or something?"

"Nope," Dustpelt retorted, popping the 'p.' "You're going to have to figure this one out on your own, toots. Because your mother would kill me if I was the reason you mated with a warrior three times your age."

"Everyone is older than me," Larchkit huffed. "I'm the youngest kit in the Clan."

"Second youngest," Dustpelt corrected. "You were born a few heartbeats before your brother."

"Splendid."

"No need for attitude," Dustpelt playfully nudged her. "Besides, you'll have plenty of time to think about all this 'Sootfur' stuff in our new home." He tried to make it sound positive and helpful, but her ears drooped even more than before.

"If we ever get there," she mumbled. "We've been travelling for seasons."

"My dear," Dustpelt grinned as he picked Larchkit up in his jaws so she could get a better look at the scenery. Like many others, she gasped at what she saw before her. A sparkling blue lake with rolling hills, thick forests, and an island in the centre of it all. "We're already here."


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter Five

When Larchkit imagined finally reaching the end of the Great Journey, she pictured them immediately going straight to their camps where there would already be nests and dens already set up for them. She imagined they'd find a place just like the Old Forest and she could just continue on with her life as if nothing had changed.

Unfortunately, that was not the case.

They stayed in the open fields, all four Clans, to wait to set out a patrol to explore the new territory. Larchkit didn't really understand that part though; it was obvious that WindClan would live in the fields, ShadowClan and ThunderClan would split up the forest, and RiverClan would live in the lake with all the other fishes.

But when she tried telling Leopardstar that, the RiverClan leader just turned to Firestar and said bluntly, "Educate your kits." And then she walked away with the other leaders softly laughing to themselves.

At first, Larchkit had been excited. She chatted with the other kits and even some of the apprentices about their new home and talked about how she would be the first apprentice made in the new territory. She talked about how she would be the first newly appointed deputy if Firestar waited that long for Graystripe. She talked about how she would explore the territory with the other senior warriors and discover all the wonderful little things that the Old Forest didn't have.

She just _talked_.

But the novelty of it all quickly wore off. Soon, she found herself just as bored as back in the Old Forest when she was stuck in camp, only this time, there wasn't any new patrols she could wait for or moss balls to play with. All she had was a giant group of warriors who all wanted to discuss the same thing, even after the conversation got boring and there wasn't anything new to talk about it. That never happened in the Old Forest.

This time, all she could do was talk. And talking got boring when the only thing anyone would talk about was their 'new home.' Larchkit couldn't even consider it home until she saw the camp for herself; she had to approve of it before letting her Clanmates move in. If she didn't like it, they'd just have to find somewhere else to stay. It didn't even matter what Firestar thought of the place.

While everyone wanted to talk about the new territory, Larchkit still had her mind set on one thing; love. She had seen many forms of love in nearly five moons of life. She had seen the way Goldenflower loved Brambleclaw, like a parent. She had seen Brackenfur and Thornclaw's brotherly love, and then she had seen the love between mates like with Sandstorm and Firestar, Dustpelt and Ferncloud and Cloudtail and Brightheart.

That was the love she wanted. With Sootfur? She didn't know.

After her talk with her father, she thought about it until she fell asleep. She analyzed the other couples and wondering if she acted like that with Sootfur; when she realized she didn't, she had to ask Dustpelt what the next step down from love was and apparently it was a _crush_. She was crushing on Sootfur. Badly.

And since everyone knows – according to Dustpelt – that crushing leads to mating, Larchkit decided that she wanted to be his mate.

But of course, when she was a little older and she wasn't a kit. He would just have to wait for her to grow up and not age himself so they could be together.

Larchkit just needed to know how to become someone's mate – when she's older of course because even she understood that a kit was a little too young for something like mates and love. She had a few options on how to find out about it; she could ask Ferncloud but then she would tell Dustpelt and he would give her another lecture about finding it out on her own. Firestar was too busy with leader stuff and Sandstorm was right by his side, helping out since Graystripe couldn't.

So that left Cloudtail and Brightheart. To be completely honest, Cloudtail was a little scary with his snappy attitude and condescending nature. Brightheart on the other paw…

Larchkit scanned the Clan until her eyes landed on a certain white-and-ginger patched she-cat. Her good side was to Larchkit as the kit happily padded up to her. When Brightheart spotted the kit, she couldn't help but let out a friendly purr. "Hello Larchkit! It seems I haven't talked to you since we were back in the Old Forest."

"I've been preoccupied," Larchkit said, puffing her chest out for using a big word. She may have pronounced it a little wrong but it still meant she was smart nonetheless. "So Brightheart, I've noticed you and Cloudtail are pretty close."

Brightheart purred in amusement. "Yes, that's what happens when you're mates with someone. Why do you mention it?"

"I don't know," Larchkit shrugged casually. "Just wondering how exactly you got to that stage. No reason behind it. None at all."

Brightheart narrowed her eyes at the brown tabby. "Are you sure this doesn't have to do with a certain Sootfur who you've been mooning over these past few days?"

"I have not been mooning!" Larchkit snapped indignantly. "Sheesh, I try to start a conversation and you jump to conclusions."

"Sure, that's exactly what's happening here," Brightheart purred with a wink. "But if you're going to moon over someone, try not to make it so obvious. I can see the drool from across the field. And when he was talking to Robinwing? You should have seen your face!"

Larchkit's face fell and her ears drooped. She plopped her rear on the ground. "Is it really that obvious?"

"Yes," Brightheart answered honestly. "But to be fair, I think he's one of the few who hasn't noticed yet. Just try to keep the longing looks to a minimum and you'll be fine. But besides that, what did you need to talk to me for?"

"I just told you!" Larchkit yelped. "How did you get a mate?"

Brightheart's eye widened. "You were being serious? Oh no, Larchkit, you're much too young for a mate. And Sootfur is too old for you. Maybe when you're a warrior but not when you still have 'kit' at the end of your name. When you're Larchfang or Larchflower, then maybe we can talk."

Larchkit dropped down, rolling onto her back and staring up at Brightheart with wide eyes. She pleaded, "Brightheart_, pleeeease_? I need to know for when I'm older so I can practice now and be a master at it when I'm old enough."

Brightheart sighed and shook her head. "Larchkit, love doesn't work like that. I didn't use some special trick to get Cloudtail, we just loved each other and I chose him. Finding a mate isn't like hunting; one cat isn't better at it than another, it just comes to others at different times."

Larchkit didn't say anything, she just grumbled under her breath and rolling onto her stomach again.

Brightheart sighed once more. "How about a story? I think you'll like this one."

More grumbling. Brightheart continued.

"When I was an apprentice, Cloudpaw was always a little …closer with me than the other toms. He'd always wanted to go hunting and Ferncloud – Fernpaw at the time – told me that he liked me. But my heart was already set on another – Swiftpaw. At the time, I thought he was the love of my life and I'd do anything for him, even follow him into a situation I knew was dangerous. He fought as hard as he could and we both tried our bests but in the end, Swiftpaw died and I was scarred."

Larchkit had already heard this story. She didn't know Brightheart had romantic feelings for Swiftpaw but she knew the gist of it. She expected the story to end there but Brightheart went on.

"Those following days are the worst of my life. I was in pain, I lost the love of my life, and I felt like a monster. It didn't help that the leader at the time renamed me Lostface out of spite for StarClan. Even my own friends could hardly look at me…" she trailed off, a frown falling on her face as if she was reliving those days. "But there was always one tom for me… Cloudpaw. Not once did he look at me differently; he was just happy I was alive. We soon became mates and had our first kit… Whitepaw."

Larchkit nodded. Brightheart was expecting her to realize that 'love is blind,' and 'the one for you might have been beside you the entire time.' But no, Larchkit just had to be difficult like that.

"So you basically became mates with Cloudtail out of default then?" Larchkit clarified and all Brightheart could do was stare in disbelief at the kit.

"No!" Brightheart screeched. "I love Cloudtail more than anything in this world and even if Swiftpaw had lived, I would have chosen Cloudtail because I realized how much he loved me. For me, not for my looks."

Larckit nodded again, this time more enthusiastically. "I get it! So I should go get attacked by a pack of dogs and whoever loves me afterward is my mate! Thanks Brightheart!"

Larchkit jumped up to run off but just as she took a step forward, Brightheart stepped on her tail, not letting her leave. "Oh no you don't! I'm not letting you get in more trouble because you're impulsive and reckless. That wasn't the moral of the story, Larchkit. What I was trying to say is that feelings will change and a situation won't last forever. I thought I'd stay young and beautiful forever. Cinderpelt thought she'd grow up to become mates with F… never mind that. The point is, the way you know someone loves you is whether they stay behind you through the hard times as well."

"Just like Cloudtail did," Larchkit purred, finally understanding what Brightheart was trying to say. At least now this meant she wouldn't have to ruin her face just to get someone to love her.

"Just like Cloudtail," Brightheart repeated.

"What about me?" The two she-cat's turned to see Cloudtail padding up. His eyes looked exhausted and there was a piece of moss hanging from his paws. He had just finished making a temporary den for the elders but the nursery would have to be made in the following day since it was getting too late and they wanted the patrol to get back before the sent out another to find a place to gather moss.

"Oh nothing," Brightheart pulled, plucking the clump of moss off her mate. "Just talking about that one time you killed that adder."

Cloudtail hummed, remembering the incident. In reality, the adder had been old and already wounded but that didn't stop him from gloating about it for a moon. "You should have seen it, Larchkit. It was nearly the size of you."

Larchkit grinned and nodded but when she looked to Brightheart, the ginger-patched she cat was shaking her head mouthing, '_Lies._'

"You should probably go get some rest, Larchkit," Cloudtail said thoughtfully. "The patrol should be back soon and we'll be going to our new camp first thing in the morning."

Larchkit stifled a yawn, suddenly realizing how tried she actually was. Even though she wanted to talk with Brightheart a little more, she didn't want to do it in front of Cloudtail and she wanted to have enough energy tomorrow so she could explore the whole territory. "Goodnight, Brightheart, Cloudtail."

"Goodnight Larchkit," Brightheart smiled softly as the brown tabby kit turned and started to pad away. Once she was out of earshot, Cloudtail turned to Brightheart.

"Were you really talking about the adder I killed?" he asked slyly and his mate ducked her head, a tell-tale sign that she was lying.

"All I have to say is that I was giving her advice." Brightheart shrugged and Cloudtail's eyes sparkled, knowing exactly who and what they were talking about.

"Did it have to do with a certain young, available tom named Sootfur?" Cloudtail asked and once more, Brightheart ducked her head. "Okay, okay, I'll stop asking about it. But just tell me one thing: how bad does she have it?"

Brightheart shook her head with a sigh. "She's got it bad. Past the point of no return. Nothing can save her now."

**Just a little note: So a review mentioned that it was a little strange to be in love when Larchkit was so young. I totally agree with that and just wanted to clear something up. Larchkit is NOT in love. She's infatuated with Sootfur and is confusing it with love. Dustpelt was joking when he told her she was in love and meant it to come across as him diagnosing her for some disease but she took it too seriously. I hope that cleared some things up :)**


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter Six

The camp was different than what Larchkit had expected. It was almost like a giant hole dug in the ground and the inside was littered with brambles and vines. All the warriors were ripping the brambles off the walls of the camp and throwing them in a big pile for someone to take out and dispose of later.

Larchkit and Birchkit thought it would be a fun idea if they leapt into the pile of brambles and play with them like one would do with a pile of leaves. But once they tried it, they realized their mistake… and learned what brambles actually were.

All this time Larchkit had just assumed brambles were like any of plant, weak at the stem and semi-soft. But when Larchkit sat on the floor of the newly found medicine cat den with a pained scowl on her face as Leafpaw – Leaf_pool_ as of yesterday – and Cinderpelt pulled thorns out of her fur, she realized she was far from the truth.

"What would possess you to do this?" Cinderpelt muttered, shaking her head as she pulled another thorn out with her teeth. Larchkit winced but tried to hold back the tears; she was far too old to be crying over a tiny thorn and even though she whimpered when she first landed in the pile, she still managed to bite her tongue.

"We thought it'd be soft," Birchkit muttered from off to the side. He hadn't been the one to leap into the pile so he just had to bask in guilt instead of pain.

"You're lucky none of these went very deep and most just got caught in your fur," Leafpool muttered as she spat another thorn on the ground.

"They _feel_ deep," Larchkit flinched as Cinderpelt pulled out another one.

"Trust me, you'd know whether they were deep or not. These ones barely broke through the skin and you shouldn't have any lasting pain. I'll put a little dock on some of the worse scratches catchweed to stop the poultice from being rubbed off but you should be fine," Leafpool explained even though it literally meant nothing to Larchkit.

All she heard was, "We'll give you something to make the pain stop."

"Okay," Larchkit muttered. "Can I go now?" She just wanted to get out of this dark den and go play with Birchkit again. Was that so much to ask?

"No, you're still covered in brambles," Cinderpelt snorted. "It shouldn't take much longer though. And then you're free to go do whatever you kits do… other than jump in brambles."

"Don't worry, I've learned from my mistake," Larchkit answered with a wince. Leafpool had just pulled out a particularly nasty one by her ear. She watched as the brown tabby dropped the thorn and then got up to go start making a poultice while Cinderpelt finished up with the thorns. "How much longer will this take?"

"I just answered that, Larchkit," Cinderpelt mused and Larchkit sighed. She just wanted to go already!

"Can I help?" Birchkit asked. "I feel bad that my sister has to go through all this so I want to help make her feel better."

"Sure, Birchkit," Cinderpelt smiled kindly. "You can pull out all the brambles that are only caught in her fur but if it looks deep, just leave it and let me pull it out. Okay?" The brown tom nodded and padded towards Larchkit. He scanned her fur, looking for some thorns that weren't very deep and plucked them out. He wasn't as fast as Leafpool had been but at least it meant she wouldn't have to spend as long in that stupid medicine cat den!

Larchkit helped them out a little by pulling out the ones on her front legs and paws but other than that, she was pretty much useless. Every time she tried twisted around to get a particularly annoying one, Cinderpelt would lightly cuff her over the ear and get it herself.

"This would go so much faster if Toadkit, Applekit, and Marshkit were here," Larchkit muttered. She immediately regretted the words though when Birchkit tensed up, his face falling and his ears drooping. It was no secret that he missed his three friends – Larchkit did too of course – but Birchkit was closer with them. And it was still much too early to talk about them so casually. But just as soon as his face fell, it lightened up again.

"Think of how funny they'll think this is when we go to our first gathering!" Birchkit chuckled. "They'll think it's hilarious!"

"Yeah," Larchkit huffed. "Absolutely hilarious."

"Oh lighten up, Larchkit," Cinderpelt said jokingly, swatting the kit with her tail. "You did this to yourself so you can't complain. Besides, there's only a few more to go and then you're done. Leafpool just finished with the poultice too so she can put that one while Birchkit and I finish up with these last few buggers."

"Okay," Larchkit sighed dramatically. "Just hurry up though; I want to go back out and play until the nursery is done and Ferncloud will make me stay in it all say."

"If I could sleep all day like you, I would," Cinderpelt snorted. "Enjoy it while it lasts kit, because this is going to be your last Leafbare as a kit and then you'll be patrolling and fighting all day."

"Yeah but I want to play in the snow, not sleep! I'm not a badger!" Larchkit grumbled. She tried moving away from Leafpool who was rubbing a poultice on her wounds but the medicine cat simply adjusted herself so she could get to Larchkit without her moving away.

"You're free to go now," Leafpool mewed when Cinderpelt dropped the last bramble onto the pile. "You're lucky Firestar sent out a patrol to collect us some herbs or else getting a few thorns stuck in your fur isn't the worst thing to happen. Your wounds could have gotten infected and then you would have spent a lot longer with…us." By the time she finished, the kits were already out of the den and leaping joyously in the light snow.

"Larchkit, Birchkit, get out of that slush," Ferncloud called from where she was helping Dustpelt with the nursery. It looked pretty shaky and there were a lot of holes in it. But at least it was something. Something was better than what they were sleeping in during the Great Journey. "You'll catch a cold. Don't you think you've gone to see Cinderpelt enough today?"

Larchkit grumbled something incoherent under her breath as she slowly pulled herself out of the watery snow. Birchkit had dived fully in and if anyone were to catch a cold, it would be him.

"But we're bored!" Larchkit whined. She turned back to make her brother step up for her but he had already trailed off to go talk to Whitepaw. "Can I help build the nursery?"

"Sorry, Larchkit but we only need to patch up some holes on the roof and you're a little too small for that," Dustpelt apologized. "But if we ever need help rebuilding the nursery when you're a bit older, you can help us then."

"Great," Larchkit rolled her eyes sarcastically. "That's just fantastic."

"You'll just need to find something else to do while we're busy then. We don't have time to play right now," Ferncloud said and Larchkit huffed. She loved her parents, she really did, but sometimes they could be so… busy. At least she was part of the lucky litter though; Spiderpaw and Shrewpaw rarely ever got any attention because Ferncloud and Dustpelt were so preoccupied with Larchkit, Hollykit, and Birchkit.

Larchkit turned and dragged herself away. She plopped down near one of the dens where it was dry and watched as everyone worked. Some warriors were taking a quick break, others out hunting and most of the Clan was helping to build their new home. She would have helped but she knew no one would let her near the brambles after the last incident and she was too small to do most of the other tasks. Except for hunting…

Larchkit's eyes drifted to where a patrol had just come in, carrying fresh pieces of prey in their jaws. Even though it was Leafbare, they still all managed to catch at least one piece and if they could, Larchkit bet that she could as well. She knew that she shouldn't sneak out of camp – especially after she almost got killed last time – but it was a lot warmer out of the mountains and they would forgive her if she brought back a big fat mouse.

Larchkit did a quick scan around the Clan to make sure no one was looking before she casually started to pad towards the exit. She figured that no one would think twice about it if she was confident about it.

But apparently someone did think twice about it because just as she was nearing the exit, someone stepped in front of her. Rainwhisker.

"If you're thinking about sneaking out of camp again, don't. We had enough trouble finding you the last time you did that." His face was soft and joking but his words were stern. Larchkit let her ears droop as she looked up at the warrior. "I understand that you're bored but you can't just walk out of camp whenever you feel like it."

"But there's nothing to do!" Larchkit whined and plopped on the snowy ground. "No one has time for me and it's taking forever for me to become an apprentice!"

"That's how I felt, too," Rainwhisker admitted. "But I was just about to take a break so why don't we share a mouse before I have to go help your father finish patching up the nursery?"

"Sure!" Larchkit squeaked. It was an honour to eat with a warrior, especially as a kit. She bounced after the gray tom as he sniffed out a juicy mouse and lightly picked it up in his jaws. He set it down and let Larchkit take out a bite. "Do you know who my mentor will be?"

Rainwhisker shook his head. "Leaders won't usually discuss that with regular warriors unless they're your parent or future mentor. My mentor was Cloudtail; he was good but he could get pretty strict at times."

"Who do you _think_ will be my mentor?" Larchkit perked up. She hoped she didn't get someone like Cloudtail or Sandstorm because from what she heard, they both had barbed tongues and weren't afraid to work you. She was hoping to get someone like Firestar as a mentor.

Rainwhisker paused and looked around the Clan, chewing his food slowly. Finally, he swallowed it and started speaking. "Maybe Brambleclaw because he has a pelt similar to yours and he'd be a good mentor. Everyone seems to think he'll be the deputy to replace Graystripe but he hasn't had an apprentice yet. It could also be Thornclaw or Ashfur because they're both very talented warriors."

"Thornclaw just lost his last apprentice though so are you sure he'd be assigned a new one so soon?" Larchkit asked.

"I suppose not but not everyone in ThunderClan is fit to be a mentor. Keep in mind that Dustpelt and Ferncloud can't mentor you since they're your kin and I doubt Firestar would assign Sorreltail or Squirrelflight an apprentice since they're so new." Larchkit nodded at his reasoning.

Larchkit glanced up to see Firestar whispering something to Sandstorm as they watched Rainwhisker. Their leader pulled away from his mate and called out to Rainwhisker. "Rainwhisker, will you come here for a moment?"

Rainwhisker shared a confused glance with Larchkit before getting up and padding over to the tom and his mate. Larchkit couldn't hear what they were saying but his face lightened up and he looked really excited about something, glancing back to Larchkit and nodding enthusiastically. Firestar grinned at his excitement and the younger tom dipped his head one last time at Firestar before turning and trotting back to Larchkit.

"What was that all about?" Larchkit cocked her head. Rainwhisker couldn't keep the smile off his face.

"I can't say but you'll find out soon enough. You'll like it though, I promise," he purred.

"If you say so," Larchkit muttered as she swallowed the last piece of the mouse. "So are you going to go rebuild the nursery now then?"

"Yeah," Rainwhisker sighed. "It was nice talking with you though, Larchkit. You'll be an apprentice soon enough and then you can leave camp as much as you please but for now, try to stay where your parents can see you."

"Okay," Larchkit muttered ducking her head. The tom gave her a friendly lick over the ear before trotting off towards where Dustpelt was struggling with the nursery. Once he was gone, Larchkit felt boredom creep up on her again as she watched her Clanmates work. She desperately wanted to do something but there was simply nothing left for her to do. She scanned the Clan, looking for someone for her to talk to when her eyes landed on Sootfur.

He was pulling brambles off the wall and tossing them into a pile when Larchkit approached him. He glanced briefly over his shoulder to acknowledge Larchkit but didn't say anything.

"Sootfur, are you going to be taking a break anytime soon? Want to play moss-ball?"

"I can't," he grunted. "I'm busy with these brambles."

"But I'm bored!"

"Can't," he repeated.

"But Sootfur! One quick game won't hurt!"

"Larchkit, I really can't right now." He was starting to get annoyed but Larchkit couldn't tell.

"Sootfur-"

"Larchkit, not now!" he finally snapped, whipping around angrily. "Can't you see that I'm busy?"

Larchkit shrunk back and Sootfur's eyes immediately filled with remorse. He hadn't meant to snap at the kit, but he was busy and he really needed to get this done before New-leaf or else the brambles would just grow back even thicker than before. "Look, Larchkit, I'm sorry I snapped. But I'm really busy right now…"

"It is fine," Larchkit tried to say without letting her voice waver. "You have warrior duties."

"No, it's not. I shouldn't have gotten angry," Sootfur jumped in. "Listen, if I finish this, then we can play moss-ball all night long, okay?"

Larchkit shot him a weird look. "I mean, sure, but you realize moss-ball isn't _that_ fun, right? A few games is fine but all night is a little ridiculous, don't you think?" Sootfur shook his head playfully and nudged the young cat.

"Sure it is. Now get out of my fur, you," he joked. Larchkit beamed up at him before trotting away and laying down in the same spot she shared the mouse with Rainwhisker. At first, she was perfectly content with just waiting for Sootfur to finish. But then she realized something:

She was bored again.

**A/N: Rainwhisker is going to become a major character soon, I promise :P But for now, Larchkit's all caught up in Sootfur…**


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter Seven

Larchkit was woken up the next morning by something falling on her face. At first she thought it was just Birchkit playing a trick on her until something else fell on her face; whether it was a trick or not, she would still have to open her eyes to deal with the problem.

With a groan, Larchkit's green eyes flicked open to see her brother on the other side of the nursery, loud snores coming from his mouth. There was no way that Birchkit would have been able to run across the nursery that fast to play a trick on Larchkit and then run back before she opened her eyes again.

No possible way. So what had woken her?

Her question was answered when not a mouse-tail away from her, a twig that was used to hold the nursery up hit the ground. She looked up to see that the nursery looked a little… off. It looked less stable than it did the night before and twigs and leaves were starting to hang down, ready to fall at any moment.

"Ferncloud?" Larchkit prodded her mother. "Wake up."

"Larchkit, go back to sleep," her pale gray mother muttered. She tried to lightly swat the kit away but missed completely. "It's too early to play a game."

"Ferncloud, I think there's something wrong with the nursery," Larchkit whispered but her mother still didn't open her eyes.

"Yeah, I know what's wrong with it," she growled. "You're not sleeping in it!"

"No, I mean something's really wrong with it!" Larchkit tried again. "The roof is falling off!"

"Larchkit, you're probably just imagining things," she sighed and sat up. "Here, I'll prove it to you. I'll-"

Ferncloud was cut off when a twig blew off the top of the roof and landed directly on her head, bouncing off and landing at her paws. The she-cat stared down at it in shock and then looked around the den; the entire nursery was littered with debris and other things they used to build the nursery.

"I told you," Larchkit sang but Ferncloud didn't even have time to tell her daughter to stop being so sassy, she was already prodding Birchkit to try and wake him.

"Birchkit, get up now!" Ferncloud hissed; not to be rude or anything, but just because they were in a state of urgency. If Larchkit spent nearly a quarter of the day in the medicine cat den for jumping into a pile of brambles, Ferncloud didn't want to see the effects of what would happen if an entire den collapsed on them.

"Just a few more minutes," Birchkit hummed and curled up into a tighter ball. "I'll be up soon…"

"No, you will be up now!" Ferncloud hissed and picked her son up by the scruff. She signaled with her tail for her daughter to exit the nursery just as it started to waver to the side.

They hadn't even walked three fox-lengths out of the nursery when it happened. There was a particularly strong gust of wind and the den shook, leaning to the side more before collapsing completely. Debris flew up, spraying everywhere, but most of it just landed in a messy pile.

"There goes the nursery…" Larchkit mumbled as cats started rushing out of their dens to see what the noise was about. Birchkit would have commented but he was still too shocked and sleepy to truly understand what was going on. He shook his head a few times, looked at the nursery to see if it was just a dream and then tried again.

"Where are we supposed to sleep now?" Ferncloud asked nervously as she turned to Firestar. "It's still too cold to sleep outside and my kits need a place to sleep. StarClan knows they haven't had a full nights rest since we made the journey."

"The warriors den is a little cramped but then again, I don't want to keep them in Cinderpelt's den. We don't need them eating a strange herb if they can't sleep," Firestar said as he thought. After a pause, he decided. "Squirrelflight and Sandstorm can sleep in my den for the night and Ferncloud can sleep in the warriors den with the kits. In the morning, we'll rebuild the nursery so it's stronger against the wind and then we can all go back to our regular nests."

Squirrelflight looked like she wanted to object but she bit her tongue. As much as she didn't want to share a den with her parents, everyone knew it was an unheard of honor to sleep in the same den as your leader and she should feel lucky. Besides, the Clan always came before her wants.

"We get to sleep in the warriors den," Larchkit whispered excitedly to her brother who was only starting to realize that he wasn't dreaming. "We're like, the only kits _ever_ to spend a night in the warriors den!"

Birchkit only grunted in response as they padded into the den. It was dark and with everyone else swarming back into their den, it was hard to know where to go. Until Dustpelt waved them over and nodded to an empty nest. "This is where Thornclaw sleeps but we decided to reorganize some things so you can sleep closer to me. He'll sleep in Squirrelflight's nest and the kits can sleep in Sandstorm's nest who sleeps right here," Dustpelt explained and prodded some bedding near his. "Is that okay with you?"

"It's perfect," Ferncloud purred and nuzzled her mate. Larchkit and Birchkit didn't say anything as they clambered onto the mossy bedding and curled into fluffy balls of fur. The nest was far too large for them and even if they spread out as wide as their bodies would allow, they'd still have room to spare.

Once Larchkit was in a comfortable position, she scanned the den. Some cats had already fallen asleep and most other were starting to drift off, but Larchkit couldn't help but smile at her Clanmate's as a single thought crossed her mind.

'_So this is what being a warrior is like…_'

The next morning was not a pleasant one. For anyone.

Larchkit was still exhausted from all the excitement of the night before but no one would let her sleep. Someone stepped on her tail, another couple of warriors were laughing a little too loudly at a joke, and then with Cloudtail barking orders from outside, there was no way Larchkit was able to sleep. So she just kind of laid there, curled in a ball next to her brother as he dozed blissfully unaware of all the racket going on around him.

Finally, when the sun was shining directly in her face and Larchkit couldn't stand it anymore, she finally decided it was time to get up and go bother someone. And the cats that she decided to bother just so happened to be the same ones rebuilding the nursery.

"Don't make it as unstable as last time," Larchkit mewed and a few of the warriors jumped, not noticing she had walked up behind them. "I don't want to die by getting crushed by a nursery. That'd be just embarrassing."

"We're making it more stable," Thornclaw replied. "Don't worry, this time it's not going to collapse."

"Could you make it bigger too? I need more room to play," Larchkit added.

"Larchkit, if you want to play, why don't you just play outside?" Dustpelt asked as he moved some of the debris from the night before out of the way.

"Because it's cold outside and Ferncloud will make me come inside anyway. If I come in then I'll just be bored," Larchkit answered.

"If we make it any bigger then we'll just be taking up space. Why don't you go get something to eat?" Ashfur asked. He was trying to be as kind as he could in telling the kit to scram but she clearly wasn't getting the message.

"I'm not hungry," Larchkit lied. She was starving but she wanted to mess with the warriors who kept her awake so she refused to eat. Revenge came before hunger, always.

Larchkit watched as Thornclaw tripped over a small branch and she laughed loudly. "Don't fall!"

"Larchkit, when did you become such a pest?" Dustpelt finally asked, giving her a stern look. As much as he loved his daughter, she needed to learn when to stop talking.

"When incompetent warriors nearly got me killed from my own nursery," Larchkit answered smoothly. The three warriors turned to gape at the kit. Partially because of her attitude, partially because they didn't know a kit knew words like 'incompetent.'

"Larchkit!" Dustpelt snapped. "For StarClan's sake, what has gotten into you today?"

"Probably pieces of the nursery that almost crushed me." Larchkit shrugged as her father's eyes narrowed.

"Like father, like daughter," Thornclaw sniggered. Dustpelt shot him a look but the golden brown tom had already looked away. "I have an idea."

Before anyone could ask what he was doing, the warrior bounded away. The three cats watched with mild interest as he approached Sootfur, saying something and motioning over to Larchkit. The gray warrior nodded and said something else before Thornclaw came back.

He didn't say much, he only looked at Ashfur and Dustpelt and said, "You're welcome," and then turned to Larchkit and said, "And you're especially welcome."

"Why?" Larchkit cocked her head.

"C'mon Larchkit, we're going to play that game of moss-ball that I promised you." Larchkit whipped around to come face to face with two vibrant amber eyes.

"Wh-what?" Larchkit stuttered, looking from Thornclaw to Sootfur.

"I promised you that I'd play a game of moss-ball with you so why don't we go play that now and let your father get back to work?" Sootfur repeated. Larchkit numbly nodded as she trailed after the tom, looking back once to shoot Thornclaw a grateful look. He just beamed at her.

But once both their back were turned and they were out of earshot, Dustpelt whacked Thornclaw on the head with a sheathed paw. "Do you have bees in your brain? She's my only daughter and you're sending her to play with the tom she's been mooning over!"

Thornclaw laughed and dodged the older tom's next blow. "Sorry to break it to you but they," he nodded to Larchkit and Sootfur, "are inevitable. No matter how much you can try and stop it, they're going to get tangled up together."

"Not if I can help it," Dustpelt grumbled under his breath as he turned away to start on the nursery again. But now, his thoughts were swarmed with trying to protect his kit from toms.

On the other side of camp, Sootfur and Larchkit stood together, both with frowns on their faces.

"Where are we supposed to get the moss?" Larchkit asked, cocking her head to one side. They had bounded away from the others only to realize they didn't have any actual moss to use. They would have used the moss in the nursery but that option wasn't available anymore and no one in the warrior den would have let them rip up their nests to play a game.

And it wasn't like Cinderpelt was going to give them any…

"Why don't you wait here and I'll go collect some from the forest?" Sootfur offered and Larchkit's ears drooped. "Or… or I could ask Firestar if you could come collect it with me?"

Larchkit looked up with excitement sparkling in her green eyes. "Really? You would do that?"

"Sure, if Firestar allows it," Sootfur answered smoothly. "I don't see why he wouldn't; you'll be with me and we're only going to collect moss."

"Okay!" Larchkit squealed, bouncing around.

"Let's go ask him," Sootfur purred as he watched the kit. Larchkit was honestly like a sister to him and it made him happy, seeing her happy.

The two cats padded over to where Firestar was sharing tongues with Sandstorm. He glanced up when he saw the pair. "Hello Sootfur, Larchkit. Anything I can help you with?"

"Yes actually," Sootfur said, dipping his head. "I was wondering if I could take Larchkit out to help me collect moss. She's nearly six moons now and it's not a very far walk."

Firestar hesitated, sharing a look with Sandstorm. His mate muttered in his ear, "I think you should let them. Larchkit's taken a liking to Sootfur and she's been bugging all the senior warriors who are trying to rebuild the nursery."

Firestar nodded and finally said, "Just this once; I don't want this becoming a habit. And you're getting the moss and coming straight back, understood?"

The two cats nodded ferociously with wide grins on their faces. Before Firestar could rethink his decision, they turned and bolted off to go collect the moss. Larchkit held her head high as she sauntered out of camp, as a few cats turned and watched with mild interest.

The second Larchkit stepped out of camp, she was in awe. Trees towered over her and all sorts of sounds and smells hit her that had been blocked out by the towering walls of camp. She had been dozing in and out of consciousness when Ferncloud had carried her to the new camp so this was her first real time seeing the forest.

"It's… beautiful!" Larchkit gasped and looked around. Sootfur chuckled at her as she pounced on a leaf, batting it into the air before getting distracted by a thick tree and leaping at it, trying to pull herself up.

"It is, isn't it? But I promised Firestar that we would get moss and come straight back so we have to get a move on," Sootfur said and Larchkit nodded, still looking around in awe.

As they walked, Larchkit pointed out every little detail on the forest. "Look at that robin! Are those the same herbs Cinderpelt has? What's that?" As much as Sootfur tried, he just couldn't keep up with the energetic kit- mentally, that is. Her legs were so short he had to stop every so often to let her catch up.

"We're here," Sootfur announce, stepping out of the way so Larchkit could see the moss. It was growing on rocks, fallen logs, and the base of trees. It was such a plentiful area because there was a small dip in the land where the melting snow would flow. "Grab as much as you can hold-"

"We don't need all that moss for moss-ball!" Larchkit gasped, exasperated. "We need a ball of it, not a mountain! I swear, it's like you've never even played before!"

Sootfur playfully cuffed her over the ear, nudging her. "No, mouse-brain! The moss in the nursery got ruined so I figured if we collected as much as we can now, that's one trip I don't have to make later."

"Oh!" Larchkit grinned. "You could have just said that!"

"I was trying to," Sootfur mumbled under his breath. He began collecting moss, scraping it off the rocks and tossing it to Larchkit. He showed her the proper way of holding it but she couldn't hold that much since she was so tiny; even as a kit she was considered small.

It didn't take long for them to collect as much moss as they needed and head back. On the way back, Sootfur noticed Larchkit was quieter than normal so he decided to take a small break to ask her what was wrong. "You okay? You seem quiet."

"Yeah," Larchkit sighed, letting the ball of moss drop as they stopped. "It's just that I don't want to go back to camp… it's so nice out here!"

"I know how you feel, Larchkit," Sootfur nudged her lightly. "But don't worry about it too much. You're what, five moons now? You'll be out her again in no time and it's going to be much more exciting than collecting moss."

"What if all my mentor does is make me collect moss?" Larchkit grumbled and Sootfur purred in amusement.

"I doubt he'd do that."

"He?" Larchkit asked cocking her head. "What if it's a she-cat?"

Sootfur didn't say anything. He just shot her a sly look, picked up his moss and began padding towards camp again.

"Wait, Sootfur!" Larchkit squeaked, messily picking up her moss and chasing after the tom. "Do you know who my mentor is going to be?"

"Maybe," Sootfur smirked mysteriously. He loved teasing the kit because she got so excited and had this bright, silly look in her eyes that made him chuckle. He continued, "Maybe not."

"Who!" Larchkit screamed, bounding after him. "Please tell me! Will I like him?

"Yes, I know for a fact that you'll like him. But I can't tell you who it is; I've already said too much."

"No, no you haven't!" Larchkit tried. "C'mon, just give me a hint? What color is his fur? Does he have any family? What sound does his name start with?"

"I'll give you one hint," Sootfur finally said with a gentle smile. "He… has a sister."

A sister? Which toms in ThunderClan has a sister? Thornclaw, Brackenfur, Ashfur, Brambleclaw, and apparently Firestar, though she was a kittypet and Larchkit had never seen her. Her brothers obviously had a sister but she doubted one of them would mentor her... Sootfur and Sorreltail were siblings! Was this his way of telling her that he was going to be her mentor?

Larchkit didn't utter another word as she bounced after the older tom, a new feeling of happiness in her chest. Sootfur was going to be her mentor! She was sure of it!

They reached camp and Larchkit didn't even complain as she slid under the brambles, dropping her ball of moss proudly on the ground. Even if she barely collected any and most of it wasn't for their game, she still couldn't help but feel a surge of pride run through her.

She had collected her first ball of moss and in less than a moon, the tom she was madly crushing on was going to be her mentor. Nothing could bring her down!

"You ready?" Sootfur asked and the kit nodded excitedly. She pulled some moss out of the ball that she had collected and rolled it off so the soft part was on the outside and all the yucky dirt was on the inside.

"Just to warn you, I'm probably the best moss-ball player to ever live," Sootfur gloated and Larchkit narrowed her eyes competitively.

"We'll see about that," she sneered. In a flash, she flung the ball at the tom. He batted it back to her easily and she decided then and there that she would have to bring her all if she wanted to win the game.

The point of moss-ball was to bat the ball back and forth. If one cat missed it, that meant they lost the game. Sootfur knew he could easily send the moss sailing over the kit's head but what would be the fun in that? Besides, the other warriors wanted him to keep Larchkit busy and that wouldn't work very well if he won right away.

Larchkit batted the ball back to Sootfur, aiming a little off to the side this time and the tom had to dive a bit to catch it before it went past him. Hooking it with his claws, he tossed it back to the kit, making her run so she didn't lose.

Larchkit flung the moss back at the tom, in the opposite direction that he had dived the last time. He did the same to her and that was the moment when the simple game of moss-ball turned into a competitive, life-or-death situation.

A few cats started to look at the two as the jumped, raced, and dived all over the place just for a ball of moss. Some even started to crowd around them, betting mice on who would win. Some bet Sootfur since he was so much bigger, but others argued that if he could win so easily then why was he struggling so much.

"Go Larchkit!" Birchkit cheered. Spiderleg was sitting next to him, calling out cheers as well.

"C'mon Sootfur, show her who's the moss-ball champion!" Sorreltail called jokingly.

Larchkit's claw hooked on the ball and she sent it flying back to Sootfur. The ball flew to the right, so far that Sootfur had to sprint to catch it. He leapt into the air, not noticing the tom standing blindly in his path.

Sootfur rammed full force into Longtail, knocking them both over and making them roll. The Clan gasped and others winced, having to look away at Sootfur's mistake.

When Longtail and Sootfur rolled to a stop, all the younger tom could do was stare down at his former mentor in shock. "Longtail I am so sorry! I was caught up in the game and I went for the ball and you came out of nowhere!" Sootfur blabbered on.

Longtail waited for him to finish before asking, "So you lost then?"

Sootfur made a confused face and glanced at the untouched ball of moss. "Well yeah but that doesn't matter. Are you okay? I didn't break your neck or anything, did I?"

Longtail didn't answer, he simply broke out into a wide grin, and called out, "Mousefur, I told you the kit would win! You owe me three mice!"

Sootfur stared at the blind tom, and then glanced at the elderly she-cat who was cursing under her breath. She glared harshly at Sootfur. "I was perfectly fine with laying around all day but now I have to actually go out and catch something, thanks to _you_!" she sneered at the tom.

"B-but… what?" Sootfur's eyes were as wide as a full moon and all he could do was look around in confusion. "Isn't anyone mad that I knocked down a _blind elder_?"

"I'm sure three juicy mice will make up for it," Longtail grinned. His sightless eyes were filled with joy while the she-cat next to him held nothing but rage on her face.

"She only won because you got in the way," she snapped at Longtail.

"Did not!"

"Did too!"

As the two elders continued to bicker, Sootfur padded over to Larchkit, still looking confused at what had just happened. "That was… weird." It was the only word he could think of to describe it.

"At least we learned something today," Larchkit beamed. "That I'm the ultimate moss-ball champion."

"Are not!" Sootfur snapped playfully. He swatted at the kit with a silly grin on his face.

"Are too!" Larchkit ducked under Sootfur's paw and lunged at him, clinging to his back as he tried to shake her off. The warriors watching all purred and shared knowing glances.

Everyone couldn't help but notice the similarities between Mousefur and Longtail, and Sootfur and Larchpaw. There was only one question though: was that a good thing or a bad thing?

Judging by the scowl on Dustpelt's face, he was _not_ happy about it.

**Really enjoyed writing this chapter! Sootfur and Larchkit are kind of adorable, don't you think? :) I believe the next chapter is her first day as an apprentice and let's just say that it's quite eventful ;) And finally, I'm going to shamelessly self-advertise here but I just published a brand new story called Fight or Flight: Book One: Immune! If you enjoy my writing, you might like that too!**


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter Eight

_In, out. In, out._

Larchkit had to consciously force herself to breath because she was so excited and terrified at the same time. Birchkit was beside her, nervously tearing up some moss as he tried peering out the nursery to look at their Clanmates.

It had been about a moon since Larchkit and Sootfur's game of moss-ball and her venture out of camp. But now, that day seemed stupid compared to this one because this was the day her whole life had been leading up to!

In that one moon, not much had happened to be honest. Larchkit had bothered some more warriors, she had played a few more games of moss-ball with Sootfur, all of which Dustpelt had split up, giving the young warrior a nasty glare.

Not to mention the fact that Larchkit's little crush on Sootfur had grown into borderline love and it was no secret to anyone in ThunderClan how fond she was of the tom. Maybe only a few of the more oblivious cats hadn't figured out her feelings yet – like Sootfur, himself.

But other than that, the wait for her apprentice ceremony had been quite dull. Until now, that is.

"Do you see who our mentors are?" Larchkit whispered to her brother. Ferncloud was grooming her, making sure every piece of fur was in place before she let her daughter go become an apprentice. It meant even more to her that these two had made it because she had lost so much; Shrewpaw, Hollykit… that was why this was even more important.

"Ferncloud, I'm fine!" Larchkit huffed, ducking away from her mother. "You're not even grooming me anymore, you're just slobbering on me!"

Ferncloud rolled her eyes and gave her kit one final lick before analyzing the both of them. Birchkit looked handsome, with his chest puffed out and his amber eyes wide in excitement. He was a few shades lighter than his sister but it was clear to anyone that they were siblings.

Larchkit looked beautiful as well, with her big green eyes and dark fur; to Ferncloud, she was the pinnacle of beauty. But then again, Larchkit was her daughter and she had to think that. Whether it was true or not, Ferncloud couldn't help but think that she had one of the best looking families in the Clans.

Other than Mothwing and Hawkfrost of course; they were strangely attractive and Ferncloud had caught a few cats mooning over the RiverClan cats during the Great Journey.

"Are you ready?" Ferncloud purred to her kits. "Firestar is going to call you out any moment now."

As if on cue, they heard Firestar's loud voice ring through the clearing. "Birchkit and Larchkit, please step forward."

Larchkit shot her brother an excited look before the padded forward, their shoulders barely touching. Larchkit scanned the crowd, her eyes landing briefly on her father and then her brother who were grinning widely at her.

This was it, this was the moment she had been waiting her whole life – so far, at least – for and it would be the start of her new life. In about another six months, she would be a warrior, curled up next to her brother on one side, and Sootfur on the other. At least she hoped that's how it would turn out.

Firestar began, "Larchkit, you have reached the age of six moons, and it is time for you to be apprenticed. From this day on, until you receive your warrior name, you will be known as Larchpaw. Rainwhisker will mentor you. I know he will pass down everything he has learned, onto you."

Rainwhisker? Larchpaw thought Sootfur was going to be her mentor. Though it did make sense, Larchpaw couldn't help but be shocked. Rainwhisker had a sister – Sorreltail, just like Sootfur – and that one day when Firestar talked to him and he had been excited, that must have been when he found out.

But nevertheless, Larchpaw stepped forward, politely bowed at her leader before turned and lightly tapping her nose against Rainwhisker's. She was slightly disappointed that she had gotten the wrong brother as her mentor but she still liked Rainwhisker; he was funny, kind, and from what she'd heard, a very respectable warrior.

She knew she would do well with him and she was excited to spend the next few moons learning from Rainwhisker.

Birchkit – or Birchpaw now – was Ashfur's apprentice. Larchpaw liked Ashfur, and so did her brother. They'd work well together and Firestar couldn't have picked a better mentor for her Birchpaw.

The ceremony ended and the two new apprentices bounced into the centre of camp so they could be swarmed by her Clanmates. "Oh I'm so proud of you two!" Ferncloud squealed.

"You will be some of the finest warriors in the Clans," Dustpelt said as he stood tall with pride.

"I'll make your nest right by mine, Birchpaw." That was Whitepaw.

"See, I told you you'd like your new mentor." And finally, Sootfur.

"I can't believe I didn't figure it out sooner," Larchpaw breathed, turning to the tom. "I've been thinking about it for the past moon!"

"He'll be a good mentor," Sootfur went on. "I know my brother and I know how well you two will get on. He's already said many good things about you and if he does something wrong, I can put him in his place for you."

"I'm not the only one who might need to be put in their place," Rainwhisker said, as he padded up to the group.

Dustpelt heard what the tom had said and whirled around from his son, narrowing his eyes at the tom. "I do not need any tom's putting my daughter 'in place!'"

Silence fell over the group and Larchpaw ducked her head, instantly feeling her ears burn up. The two brothers shared a look and they both took a tentative step back, away from Dustpelt. "I-I didn't mean it like that," Rainwhisker muttered.

"Of course you didn't!" Dustpelt spat. If Larchpaw could sink into the ground, she would have. "Toms are all the same!"

"Dustpelt, maybe now would be a good time to stop humiliating your daughter," Ferncloud snapped at her mate. He looked back at her in shock before closing his mouth and nodding. He cast one last hateful glance at the toms before continuing his conversation with Birchpaw.

"Uh, can we go now?" Larchpaw asked, her pelt still burning with embarrassment. Why did her father have to go and do that? Her first day as an apprentice and already she would be known as the 'untouchable she-cat with the scary father.'

"I think that'd be best," Rainwhisker muttered. His blue eyes were still wide as he stared on at Dustpelt.

"Let's just go before someone dies," Ashfur joked as he nudged Birchpaw in the side. "C'mon, there's a lot of territory we have to explore before the sun goes down."

Four cats, two gray and two brown, turned away from the group and started towards the exit. Once they shimmied under the sharp brambles – Larchpaw panicking for a moment because he fur got snagged for a moment – and entered the forest.

Birchpaw and Larchpaw were both hit with the same sense of awe that Larchpaw had felt only a moon ago. This time, the she-cat wasn't as amazed but she still loved all the sounds, scents, and scenery of the wilderness.

"You'll have plenty of time to enjoy it, but for now, we have to go to WindClan border," Rainwhisker explained and the apprentices nodded, walking a little faster to keep up with their mentors. It didn't take them long to reach WindClan; they passed many trees and the small dip in land when Larchpaw and Sootfur had collected moss.

When they reached WindClan, it was safe to say the apprentices weren't nearly as pleased with the scenery as with the forest. All there was, was grass. Lots and lots of grass. It wasn't even lush and soft; it was dry, yellow and long. How could WindClan actually like living there?

They were about to move on when out of the corner of her eye, Larchpaw spotted a bird. A robin, to be exact. It was by the WindClan border, hopping along and pecking at seeds.

'_What if I caught it?_' Larchpaw mused to herself. '_Everyone would be so impressed that I made a catch on my first day of an apprentice… Sootfur would be impressed_.'

That last thought was the deciding factor that pushed Larchpaw into a messy hunters crouch.

Larchpaw took a few steps forward, opening her mouth because that's what Whitepaw said you had to do, and started towards the bird. Rainwhisker, Ashfur, and Birchpaw were too busy discussing WindClan to notice Larchpaw until it was too late.

Larchpaw lunged at the bird, soaring through the sky as high as her hope – until she came crashing down, that is. She had jumped too high and too far; Larchpaw soared over the bird and landed with a splash in the river.

The three toms turned to face Larchpaw, stared a moment, and then they all broke into laughter. Larchpaw was sitting in the middle of the river, drenched to the bone in water and hacking liquid out of her lungs. The robin had flown away.

"What did you do?" Ashfur laughed, falling on the ground. "We turned our back for one moment and you…" He couldn't even finish, he was laughing too hard.

"You… you…" Birchpaw fell over next to his mentor as they both laughed so hard they could hardly breathe. "Did you want to go for a swim?"

Rainwhisker was trying to hold back his purrs, but Larchpaw could see his eyes drowning in amusement. She huffed and turned away from all of them, too embarrassed and angry to even look at them. She stood up to get herself out of the water when one of the worst possible situations happened.

WindClan came.

The patrol was made up of Crowfeather, Webfoot, and Ashfoot. They had seen the group of cats from afar and when they came to confront them, they had watched the apprentice's fail.

"Is everything okay here?" Ashfoot asked, trying to stifle her sniggers. The two toms behind her didn't even try holding back as they blatantly laughed at the she-cat.

"Everything is just _fantastic_," Larchpaw spat as she dragged herself out of the water. Ashfur and Birchpaw had finally quieted down a little but when they saw her soggy fur and the scowl plastered on her face, they broke out into fits of giggles again. "Ha-ha, very funny. How about we move along now and pretend this whole thing never happened?"

"Are you okay, Larchpaw?" Rainwhisker finally asked. Having his first apprentice injure herself on her first – well, technically second – day out of camp would be dreadful.

"I'm wet and cold and I just want to finish this stupid patrol," she snapped, huffing.

"Not to be rude or anything but you did kind of bring it on yourself," Webfoot pointed out and Crowfeather had to look away to stop from laughing. "Didn't you think that there was even a _chance_ that you'd miss and slip into the water?"

"Slip?" Crowfeather burst. "Didn't you see her? She wasn't even _near_ the robin!"

"Oh well excuse me if I'm not the best hunter in the forest on my first day!" Larchpaw hissed at the tom. "I bet you didn't have piles of rabbits at your feet on your first day either!"

"First day?" Ashfoot repeated. She was about to say something else when Webfoot butted in with:

"Why in the world would you try hunting on your first day?"

Larchpaw opened her mouth to give him another clever retort but Birchpaw just had to speak up and say, "She's trying to impress Sootfur."

"_Shut up_, Birchpaw!" Larchpaw roared, giving him her harshest glare.

"Sootfur, eh?" Crowfeather smirked. "Hey Rainwhisker, isn't that you brother? Isn't it weird if you're mentoring your brother's mate?"

"That's enough, guys," Rainwhisker finally sighed. Larchpaw couldn't help but think that the reason he was only defending her now was because he was dragged into it. "We should probably head back to camp to get Larchpaw dried off."

"Don't hurt yourself on the way back!" Webfoot called as his patrol finally left. Larchpaw shot him one final dirty look before they ran off.

When they were gone, Larchpaw whirled on her brother. "Why would you _say_ that?" she snarled.

"Oh come on, it was funny," Birchpaw said easily but he was met with a nasty glare.

"No it wasn't, it was humiliating! Thanks for sticking up for me, _Birchpaw_." She spat out his name like it was poison and his ears finally drooped a little when he realized his sister wasn't taking this lightly.

"Larchpaw, it's not a big deal," he tried again but her features never softened.

"Just leave me alone!" she finally yelled and their mentors shared an uneasy glance, finally realizing that she was genuinely upset at what happened.

"Uh, I'll take Birchpaw to explore the rest of the territory and you can take Larchpaw back to camp. Come now, Birchpaw," Ashfur rushed and led his apprentice away. Once they were out of sight, Larchpaw sighed and started walking in the direction of camp.

"Larchpaw, are you sure you're okay? You didn't hurt anything, did you?" Rainwhisker asked worriedly. It had been funny at first but now he was starting to realize all of the horrible possibilities that could have come with falling into the river.

'_Just my pride_.' "No, I'm fine."

There was a moment of silence before Rainwhisker piped up again. "Look, I know you're angry at your brother but he was just having fun. I'm sure those cats will forget about it in less than a moon."

"He didn't have to say that though!" Larchpaw wailed. "You and Ashfur won't forget! All the cats he's going to tell when he gets back at camp won't forget! I'll be the laughing stock of ThunderClan…"

"I'll talk to him then," Rainwhisker replied easily. "Nobody has to know."

"They'll know about it when I walk through that entrance," Larchpaw muttered just as they reached the bramble entrance. She didn't say anything else as she stomped ahead and entered camp.

Out of all cats, Sootfur was the first to see her. At first he stared, and then he burst into amused purrs. "You were gone for like, a heartbeat. How did you manage to come back soaking wet?" he chuckled and Larchpaw's head dropped, her ears burning.

It seemed like everyone was just in the mood for humiliating her today.

"I-" Larchpaw started but to her surprise, Rainwhisker stepped forward.

"It was my fault," he lied easily. "I turned a little too quickly and I knocked her into the river."

Sootfur chuckled but for the first time since the 'incident' the laughter hadn't been directed towards Larchpaw. "Of course you did. And to think I promised Larchpaw that you'd be a good mentor."

"There's still time to redeem myself." Rainwhisker shrugged. "When you get your first apprentice, you'll probably drown them or something and then we'll see who is laughing."

"I wouldn't hope anyone's laughing if an apprentice drowns," Sootfur joked back. He turned back to the brown tabby she-cat. "You should probably go see Cinderpelt or Leafpool to make sure you don't get a cold."

"Okay," Larchpaw muttered sadly.

She was about to walk away when Sootfur added, "And unless they make you sleep for the rest of the day, you can come dry yourself off in the sun with me and Rainwhisker. We're not doing anything for the rest of the day."

"Okay," Larchpaw repeated but this time with a little more pep in her voice.

She shot one last grateful glance at her mentor before bounding to the medicine cat den. When she entered, she spotted a dark gray she-cat sorting herbs in the centre of the den. "Uh, hey, Cinderpelt?"

Cinderpelt glanced up, her eyes widening for a moment before she shook her head and sighed. "Of course you're soaking wet. I should have known at least one of you would come back to camp like this."

"I'm just here to make sure I'm not going to die or anything," Larchpaw explained blandly. Her mood was slowly decreasing again; she was sick of all the jokes!

"You should be fine," Cinderpelt said easily. "If anything, you'll have a bit of a cold but nothing some tansy can't solve. Nobody had ever died from a little water."

"I'm pretty sure there's been one or two cats who have drowned before," Larchpaw muttered, giving the medicine cat a look.

"I said a little," Cinderpelt meowed, matching the apprentice's sassy tone. "Now get out of my den before I give you something that will _really_ make you ill."

Larchpaw knew the she-cat wasn't being serious but she still turned and padded out of the den. She spotted Sootfur and Rainwhisker bathing in the sun on a patch of warm rocks. Larchpaw padded over to them and they both greeted her with warm smiles.

"You're okay then?" Rainwhisker confirmed and she nodded. The tom scooted over so there was room in between him and Sootfur for her to lay.

"Thanks," Larchpaw purred as she lay on the rocks next to them. It was a funny sight; two toms lying next to a soaking wet she-cat as the sun's rays dried her off.

"I still can't believe you pushed her into a river," Sootfur sniggered. "Mentor of the Moon, that's for sure."

"Yeah, yeah, very funny," Rainwhisker muttered, playfully flicking Larchpaw's flank with his tail. She opened one eye and peered at him, playfully swiping him back.

"At least I can say I had the most eventful first day as an apprentice," Larchpaw pointed out, half defending herself, half defending her mentor.

"I don't know about that," Sootfur muttered. "On our first day, since we were some of the only apprentices left that hadn't been made into warriors, we were made to collect moss. Our mentors left us for a few heartbeats because they thought they smelled fox and had to go make sure it wasn't nearby."

Rainwhisker continued with the story, "The next thing we know, the fox is right in front of us. We hadn't had any training so all we could do was scream and try to climb up the nearest tree."

"What happened?" Larchpaw gasped.

"Rainwhisker jumped onto a partially broken branch and the entire thing caved under his weight. The branch landed on the fox's head and knocked the thing unconscious. And then Rainwhisker landed on it too, still in shock of what just happened," Sootfur explained, laughing at the memory.

"You should have seen the look on our mentor's faces when they came back to see me sitting on a motionless fox!" Rainwhisker purred. "They thought I killed the thing until it started twitching!"

"We told everyone that he fought it off by himself for about a moon until Sorreltail accidentally let it slip what really happened," Sootfur piped up. "You were angry at her for moons over that."

"Moons? I'm still angry at her for that! Everyone thought I was some fox-killing prodigy before they found out the truth," Rainwhisker joked.

"So I think it's fair to say that your first day beat mine then, huh?" Larchpaw concluded and the brothers nodded. "You know Rainwhisker, if it makes you feel any better I can pretend that you killed a fox on your first day out."

"That'd be great, thanks," Rainwhisker purred sarcastically.

Larchpaw was about to say something else when they were interrupted by Sorreltail and Brackenfur approaching them.

"Well isn't this cozy?" Sorreltail hummed as her pelt brushed up against Brackenfur's.

"We were just telling her about our first day as apprentices," Sootfur explained.

"Why, what happened?" Brackenfur asked curiously. Not interested in listening to the story again, Larchpaw tuned out and closed her eyes, letting the sunlight bask over her.

It only seemed like a few moments before she realized she had drifted off to sleep. When she opened her eyes again, Larchpaw was in a familiar clearing with soft, dewy grass under her paws. There were some patches of tall grass surrounding her but all she could focus on was the pale gray she-cat standing in the centre of the clearing.

"Hollykit!" Larchpaw squealed and bounced forward to touch noses with her sister. She hadn't dreamt about Hollykit since the day they left on the journey!

"Larchpaw! Congratulations on finally making it," Hollykit purred.

"I'm just an apprentice. I haven't made it yet," Larchpaw shrugged. She cocked her head and eyed her sister up, noticing a small difference. "Wait, why are you so big? You… left us… when you were a kit. So shouldn't you still be kit-sized?"

Hollykit smiled sadly. "Remember Larchpaw, this is only a dream. I'm however big you want me to be."

"And I want you to be an apprentice next to me," Larchpaw finished sadly. After the words left her mouth, she perked up. "Wait, if this is only a dream, then you _can_ be an apprentice! You're Hollypaw and… who do you want to be your mentor?"

"Thornclaw," Holly_paw_ answered easily. "He was such a good mentor for Shrewpaw and I really looked up to him when I was alive."

"How is Shrewpaw, by the way?" Larchpaw asked after hearing her brother's name. She missed both Shrewpaw and Hollypaw dreadfully but more so her sister. Spiderleg missed Shrewpaw though; she heard that he sometimes woke up in the middle of the night after having nightmares about his death.

But then again, so did Larchpaw.

"He's well. He misses you, Birchpaw, and Spiderleg a lot though. Maybe next time you could dream of visiting him too," Hollypaw purred. "Larchpaw?"

"Yes?" Larchpaw asked.

"Larchpaw," Hollypaw repeated and Larchpaw frowned. What was she doing? "Larchpaw are you okay?"

"I'm fine Hollypaw!"

"Hollypaw?" Suddenly her sister's voice was a lot deeper and the image of the grassy clearing started to fade. In its place was two toms staring down at her.

"Who is Holly…" Rainwhisker trailed off, realizing who Larchpaw had been dreaming of. "Oh."

"Uh, you were twitching in your sleep," Sootfur muttered awkwardly. "It's getting late so we figured we would wake you up."

Larchpaw sat up, glancing at the sky. It had grown dark and the air was starting to become chilly. '_I didn't think I had been asleep for that long…_' Larchpaw thought.

"I think it's time we all got some rest, isn't it?" Sootfur meowed. "We all dozed off there for a bit after Sorreltail and Brackenfur left.

"So we were all just sleeping in the middle of camp?" Larchpaw clarified, making a face. "What a productive first day as an apprentice."

"Don't worry, we can finish exploring the territory tomorrow," Rainwhisker purred with a yawn. "This time without any accidents."

"I'll see you in the morning then." Larchpaw stood up along with the two toms. She stretched, trying to get the kinks out of her back from sleeping on rocks for so long but it was useless. A good night's sleep on a comfy moss nest should do the trick, though. "Goodnight Sootfur, Rainwhisker."

The apprentice started padding to the nursery when realization hit her and she made a turn, heading for the apprentice den. Much like Cinderpelt's den, it was a cave in the walls of the camp and it took a moment for Larchpaw's eyes to adjust upon entering.

But when her eyes did adjust, she felt her gut drop. Whitepaw and Birchpaw were both curled up on their beds, quietly talking to themselves about the day's events. When they saw Larchpaw standing at the entrance, Birchpaw's head dropped with guilt but Whitepaw looked purely joyful and welcoming.

"Larchpaw! We were wondering when you'd wake up and come join us," she purred. Larchpaw only stared at her and instead of being friendly like she normally would have, she said three simple words.

"Where's my nest?"

Whitepaw froze, her eyes darting to Birchpaw's. "I… I completely forgot to make you one! I'm so sorry, Larchpaw!"

Larchpaw's nostrils flared and her jaw clenched. She had to fight back a rude retort because she didn't want to start her relationship with Whitepaw off badly. "It's fine. One night without a nest won't kill me."

Whitepaw breathed a sigh of relief. "Oh thank StarClan, you're not mad. I promise I'll make you one in the morning!"

"Thanks." The word was curt and it was clear to anyone that Larchpaw was on the brink of snapping at her Clanmate.

She had already been teased by Ashfur, her brother, and an entire WindClan patrol. Not to mention the fact that she had humiliated herself by falling into a river and by now if gossip spread as fast as it did in ThunderClan, all of WindClan knew about her crush on Sootfur.

Despite sunbathing with Rainwhisker and Sootfur and getting an extraordinary mentor, the day had still been one of the worst in her life. And that was saying something when most of her kithood was miserable because everyone was either starving, freezing, dying, or all of the above.

It took a while for Larchpaw to drift off to sleep but when she did, she couldn't help but hope that the next day would be better than this one.


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter Nine 

"This isn't right. Cats shouldn't have to wake up this early," Larchpaw mumbled as she stifled a yawn.

She loved being an apprentice, she truly did. She loved learning how to hunt and fight and patrol and the ounce more respect she got for being out of the nursery. But the one thing she wasn't so fond of was the hours; waking up before dawn every morning was not what she would consider fun.

"It's the best time to organize patrols," Rainwhisker replied, nudging her slightly with his flank. "Once the senior warriors start to get the hang of working together to organize patrols, then everything will start working a little more smoothly."

"I don't know why we can't just assign a new deputy," Larchpaw muttered.

Rainwhisker's eyes softened. "Firestar doesn't want to believe that his best friend might not come back. It's been so long though that cats will start demanding a new deputy. He'll come to his senses soon enough."

"Who do you think should be deputy?" Larchpaw asked curiously.

"Brackenfur," Rainwhisker answered instantly. "He's wise, strong, and loyal to the bone. If anyone should help lead the Clan, he should be the one."

"What about you?" Larchpaw pointed out. "I always see you helping out even more than everyone else and now that you have an apprentice, you're eligible."

Rainwhisker chuckled and shook his head. "No, there are much better cats that can be better deputies than me. Besides, I wouldn't even want to be deputy so young; I want some experience first."

"I guess," Larchpaw shrugged. She wished he had a stronger urge to be deputy and maybe leader someday. Not only because she knew he'd be good at it, but because it'd be pretty great to have the deputy as her leader.

"You already assigned me on a hunting patrol!" Rainwhisker and Larchpaw turned to see Squirrelflight standing near Ashfur, calling out to the senior warriors. "How am I supposed to be on dawn _and_ a hunting patrol?"

"Uh, right," Thornclaw muttered looking around. His eyes landed on Rainwhisker and Larchpaw. "Rainwhisker and Larchpaw will take your place on dawn patrol. You can go with Ashfur and…" Thornclaw leaned over to Cloudtail and asked, "Who else is free?"

"Brambleclaw," Cloudtail answered back. He didn't realize that the one name meant putting the messiest love triangle ever on one patrol.

"And Brambleclaw," Thornclaw finished. Once he realized that he just created the worst patrol in history, he physically winced at what he'd done. But it was too late to change it now.

"C'mon, let's go before one of them assigns us on another patrol," Rainwhisker whispered in his apprentice's ear. Larchpaw nodded and turned, padding after her mentor to a group of cats they assumed were on the patrol with them.

The patrol was made up of Sandstorm, Spiderleg and then Rainwhisker and Larchpaw. The apprentice smiled when she saw that she would be getting to patrol with her brother; this would be their first patrol together!

"Is everyone ready?" Sandstorm asked with a yawn and the three other cats nodded in response.

"Then let's go!" Sandstorm meowed and bounded away. Her tail was dragging slightly on the ground in exhaustion but her green eyes still held the same fierceness and excitement that they usually did. That would never die in her.

As much as Larchpaw loved being an apprentice, sometimes it was hard for her to keep up with the other warriors. She was especially small for her size and with the other being so tall – particularly Spiderleg with his long, gangly legs – it could be hard to keep up.

Like now, for instance.

She was running like the wind just to keep up with the other three and the only one who seemed to notice was Rainwhisker, who stopped every so often to let the apprentice catch up.

So by the time they reached ShadowClan border, she wasn't only tired from the early morning, but also from the running. And to make matters worse, when they got to ShadowClan border, there was already a group waiting for them.

"Sandstorm," Snaketail sneered, overdramatically bowing his head. She snorted at the tom and lashed her tail. The two Clans were still bitter from the battle not that long ago that killed some ShadowClan warriors. No ThunderClan cats died, thank StarClan, but tensions were still rising and if the leaders didn't find a way to settle it soon, it could cause some more battles.

"Snaketail," Sandstorm spat. "Raid any camps lately?"

"Throw any warriors off cliffs lately?" Snaketail snapped right back. He stepped out of the way, revealing two ShadowClan apprentices that Larchpaw nearly let out a joyful shriek for when she saw them.

It was Applekit and Toadkit – or Applepaw and Toadpaw now since they were on border patrol.

Toadpaw was watching the banter between Snaketail and Sandstorm to notice Larchpaw right away but Applepaw did. She leaned over to her brother and whispered something in his ear. The tom turned and when his eyes landed on the ThunderClan she-cat, his entire face lit up with joy and he had to fight back a yelp.

Toadpaw turned back to his sister and whispered something else. Her eyes lit up with excitement and she wildly nodded.

"Snaketail, we can scent some prey nearby. Toadpaw and I will go check it out," Applepaw mewed to the older tom and he twitched his ears in acknowledgement, though he probably hadn't heard a word the she-cat said. He was too caught up in his argument.

As Larchpaw watched the apprentices leave, Applepaw turned and shot her a look. A look that clearly said, 'follow us.' So she did.

She opened her mouth to come up with an excuse but just as she started to say something Rainwhisker snapped at Snaketail and then the other ShadowClan warrior jumped in. An argument broke out between the two patrols so instead of coming up with an excuse, Larchpaw just backed away into the brush where she could sneak away from the group.

It was surprisingly easy; too easy almost.

Larchpaw saw Toadpaw's tail first, and then his legs, his torso, and finally, his face. Toadpaw broke out into a grin when he saw her and bounded over towards her, not caring about the border. Applepaw appeared next followed her brother.

"Larchkit!" Toadpaw squealed but it was still hushed enough so their patrols couldn't hear them.

Applepaw shot him a look and playfully cuffed him over the ear. "If she's on a patrol then she's _clearly _an apprentice now, mouse-brain."

Larchpaw sat up proudly and puffed out her chest. "It's Larchpaw now. I'm Rainwhisker's apprentice."

"Snaketail's my mentor," Toadpaw said.

"And Cedarheart is mine," Applepaw added. "How is Rainwhisker? He seemed nice enough on the Great Journey."

"He is," Larchpaw purred, clear fondness in her voice. "He's very respectable and-" She was cut off by her mentor's voice, calling her name. Her ears drooped in disappointment. "I should probably go now…"

"Wait!" Toadpaw pulled her back. "We need to ask you something!"

"Spit it out then, I have to go," the apprentice rushed. The siblings shared a glance before Applepaw spoke.

"Meet us at the border tonight."

What?

"We won't be hurting anyone! We just have so much to catch up on and after an experience like the journey, it'd be stupid to let a relationship like that go to waste," Toadpaw continued. "Bring Birchkit – Birchpaw, I guess – if you can. Please! We'll meet after sunset."

Larchpaw barely had time to register the words before the apprentices bounded off and she was left shocked. She was snapped out of her numb state when she heard Rainwhisker again.

"Larchpaw, where are you?" He sounded more desperate, worried even.

The ThunderClan apprentice decided that it was her cue to make her appearance. She bounded into the open where Rainwhisker's eyes visibly relaxed when he saw her. "The other apprentice's went hunting so I figured I may as well. You all seemed busy anyway."

"Larchpaw," Sandstorm started but Rainwhisker flicked his tail at the other warrior, telling her that he would handle it.

"We appreciate that you wanted to feed your Clan but this is border patrol. If a fight broke out, we would have needed you there. Next time, just stick to your duties and _especially_ don't run off without telling me."

Larchpaw's head dropped in shame. Now that she thought about it, it was silly to just run off like that. She kind of hoped her mentor would say something like, 'I'm sorry for getting cross with you, Larchpaw. I'll try to be nicer next time.'

Only he didn't.

The patrol continued in silence with only Sandstorm and one of the other warriors occasionally saying something. WindClan's border was quiet – thank StarClan! Larchpaw had been lucky without having any run-ins with WindClan and she didn't want her luck to run out. She never wanted to face them after her humiliating moment with the robin.

"Border's clear," Spiderleg sniffed. "Can we get back to camp now and get some much needed rest?"

"Unless one of the senior warriors puts you on another patrol, then sure." Sandstorm smirked at the younger warrior and he groaned. Larchpaw couldn't help but let out a short giggle at her brother; she had definitely earned his attitude from Dustpelt.

But then again, so did Larchpaw. It seemed Birchpaw was the only one who was more like Ferncloud. "You're always sleeping, you lazy lump," Larchpaw laughed and swiped at her brother. He shot her a playful glance.

"Says you! The only thing I ever see you do anymore is lounge around. You're even lazier than you were as a kit!" he teased.

"Hey, I take offense to that," she joked back. Spiderleg went to playfully swat her when Larchpaw took a step back to dodge her brother. Her foot hit a root and the apprentice couldn't stop herself as she started falling back.

She tried twisting so she wouldn't fall, only that only moved her head into the exact position needed for in to hit a jagged rock.

CRACK!

And then silence.

Even though it was dawn, all of Silverpelt lit up for Larchpaw as she lay, collapsed on the ground. It seemed like everything was spinning around her and the spot where she had hit her head was throbbing.

She looked almost peaceful; she was laying on the ground, her wide eyes staring up at the sky and her paws limply sticking out from her body. If anyone glanced at her, they'd just think she was another flimsy she-cat, out to enjoy a pretty sunrise.

But in reality, the back of her head was starting to soak with blood and her head was pounding like nothing she'd ever felt before. But then again, Larchpaw had never felt pain before; sure, she had felt hunger, cold, and the little pricks of brambles digging into her skin, but this was true pain.

Her vision was starting to clear and in replace of thousands of little stars, Larchpaw saw three warriors staring down at her with terrified expressions. The gray one's mouth was moving but no words were coming out – at least none that she had heard.

The darkest one's eyes widened and he tried nudging Larchpaw but it only sent wild shots of pain through her body. And finally, the she-cat turned to the two, determination breaking through her features as she spoke muted words.

The toms nodded before leaning down and trying to pick Larchpaw up. But the second they touched her, she opened her mouth and let out a loud wail. This time, instead of it being completely mute, she could hear little bits of it. It was like a faraway echo after bouncing around through the mountains.

'_They're trying to help you_,' a voice said in her head. She couldn't tell if it was her own or someone else's, but she decided to listen to it. '_Let them_.'

The two tried again, but this time, Larchpaw managed to bite back a yowl and even struggled with them to pull herself to her feet. But once she was standing on all fours, she nearly collapsed again but the gray one caught her.

He tried saying something to her, but like her own voice, it came out too quiet for her to understand. The fear and worry was coming off him in waves so she could only guess what he was trying to tell her.

The pale she-cat darted ahead and disappeared into the bushes, leaving the two strangers taking care of Larchpaw. They were walking at an agonizingly slow pace but whenever someone tried speeding up, Larchpaw would cry out in pain and they would have to stop again.

They didn't make it far from the place where Larchpaw hit her head when a group of cats appeared. There were about four of them; one with a limp, one carrying a bundle of herbs in her jaws, one with a fiery red pelt, and one was a large tabby tom who Larchpaw felt like she could trust.

His amber eyes were filled with distress and he was yowling things at the two she-cats. The ginger one placed a calming tail over his shoulders but he hastily shook it off, hissing something at the tom.

They were all crowding around Larchpaw, clearly talking about her but she couldn't make out the words. By now, her hearing was starting to return but everything sounded slurred and the only real thing she could hear was her own blood pounding in her ears.

"Larchpaw, can you hear me?" The she-cat didn't react to Dustpelt's words, she was just looking around like she wasn't sure what was going on; like she was in a vivid dream. "Larchpaw?"

"She must be disoriented. Bring her back to camp and let Cinderpelt and Leafpool look her over there. She's going to be okay," Firestar reassured Dustpelt. The tom's eyes met his leaders.

"I-I can't lose her too," he whispered. "Please don't let her die…"

"Dustpelt, they'll try their best," Firestar said as calmly as he could. Larchpaw stumbled forward and Rainwhisker caught her, letting her lean onto his shoulders. She just stared at him like she had no idea who he was.

"D-does she remember me?" Rainwhisker whispered to Firestar, his entire face filled with worry and terror. "She looks… lost."

"Get her back to camp," Firestar ordered, not letting the hopelessness show in his eyes. Because the truth is, he saw the confusion in Larchpaw's eyes. He saw the way she looked at Rainwhisker.

She didn't remember him. She didn't remember any of them.

"I've heard of this," Cinderpelt murmured quietly. "Littlecloud told me of a tom who hit his head and it wiped his entire memory. He couldn't even remember his own kits… They had to teach him everything again but he never fell in love with his mate again or knew his kits as more than Clanmates."

Firestar shot the she-cat a harsh look that basically said, '_shut up!_' Now was not the time to make Dustpelt worry even more than he was. He already lost a daughter and a son; he didn't need to add Larchpaw to that list.

"I only nudged her…" Spiderleg whispered as he stared at the ground in front of him. He was still in shock from everything that had happened within heartbeats. "She just… fell."

Dustpelt whirled on his son. "If she doesn't come back from this, so help me, I'll-"

"Dustpelt!" Sandstorm scolded. "We have two of the best medicine cats in the Clans! Larchpaw _will_ survive this!"

His ears fell and he shot a helpless look to Spiderleg. Dustpelt knew it wasn't his fault but he needed someone to blame. He couldn't let his only daughter's pain go unpunished. He opened his mouth to say something but nothing came out.

Even though they were moving at a snail's pace, somehow they had reached camp with the help of the whole patrol. Ferncloud and Birchpaw were waiting eagerly at the entrance, their eyes wide in horror and worry. Sootfur and Ashfur were a little further back, the same expressions plastered on their faces.

"Stay back and let my sister do her work," Brackenfur ordered, making sure the path was clear. He turned to Firestar. "Brightheart already got a nest ready and set out the herbs she thought Cinderpelt would need."

"It's greatly appreciated," Firestar breathed. At least there would be one small detail in this entire mess that would run smoothly. Or so he hoped.

Larchpaw stumbled forward again, coming off Rainwhisker's shoulders and falling to the ground as Silverpelt lit up again. She could vaguely hear everyone's screams but she didn't react to them.

All she could do was let the darkness swallow her whole.

Sootfur broke away from his spot next to Ashfur as he bolted to the brown tabby. She had always thought of her as a friend, maybe a tad annoying at times but she was good company and always managed to bring a smile to his face.

So seeing her like… that; it really hurt him. He couldn't handle losing Willowpelt _and_ Larchpaw. They were the only she-cats in his life who held any importance – other than Sorreltail of course, but he almost lost her twice as well.

Rainwhisker shot Sootfur a grateful look as they pulled Larchpaw's limp body off the ground, trying to ignore Ferncloud's desperate wails. The brown apprentice's toes were just barely dragging against the ground they rushed her into the medicine cat den.

When their eyes adjusted to the dim lighting of the den, they saw Brightheart standing there, some wet moss in her mouth and bundles of herbs lying at her feet. Cinderpelt blinked gratefully at her as the brothers let Larchpaw fall into a heap of moss.

"I need the three of you to leave so Leafpool and I can get to work," she snapped. It came out quite harsh but she wasn't intending to hurt someone, she just wanted the best for Larchpaw.

"I'm not leaving her. She's my apprentice and my responsibility," Rainwhisker replied firmly as Brightheart brushed past him on her way out. Sootfur looked a little torn but he eventually turned and walked out of the den as well.

"She may be your apprentice every other day, but right now, she's my patient and I need you to leave," Cinderpelt shot back. "If you want what's best for her, you'll wait outside."

"I'm not-" He was cut off by Leafpool.

"I understand how scary this must be for you, but you're not helping by staying with her. If anything, you'll just distract us. We're wasting precious time arguing and if you truly care about her, you'll wait outside." Leafpool's words came out in a jumbled mess but somehow, the warrior understood them.

Finally, he nodded. The last words he said before he left were, "Please don't let her die."

And then he disappeared out of the den, leaving Cinderpelt and Leafpool to tend to the wounded she-cat. Cinderpelt was confident in her abilities and knew she would do everything in her power to save Larchpaw but sometimes…

Sometimes that wasn't enough.

**Oooh, drama! I hope you all like this chapter and don't forget to tell me what you think! I love constructive criticism and knowing how to improve:)**


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter Ten

'_I forgot to meet Toadpaw and Applepaw,_' was the first thing she thought of when she woke up. She didn't know what it even meant or who they were and their name's quickly disappeared when she was hit with a wave of nausea and a pounding headache.

Larchpaw could feel some sort of poultice spread on the back of her head where the pain was originating from. It only added to the confusion as she looked around the place.

She was in some sort of den – darkly lit and filled with herbs and other sorts of plants that she couldn't identify. There were two other she-cats in the den, one sleeping softly and the other watching her. When she saw that Larchpaw was conscious, she perked up.

"You're awake," she stated. She was a bluish gray and Larchpaw remembered her as the one with the limp from yesterday. Or today; Larchpaw wasn't sure how long she had been out. "Do you remember what happened?"

"Uh," Larchpaw strained her mind to remember. "I hit my head? And then you and some others helped me before I passed out again."

"Me and some others," the she-cat repeated, her face falling in the process. "Do you know who I am?"

Larchpaw slowly shook her head. "Sorry, no."

"I need you to tell me everything you remember. Not only from hitting your head but everything. Names, memories… everything." The strange cat sat down and waited patiently for Larchpaw to begin.

Larchpaw started with recalling everything that happened after hitting her head. About how she couldn't hear anything and everything was just an echo, and how the toms helped her back to the hollow. And then she started on everything she remembered _before_ the fall.

"I know my name is Larchpaw," she recalled. "And then I can remember names but they have no faces to them."

"Like who?" the cat, who introduced herself as Cinderpelt, urged.

"Like… Fernpelt, Dustleg, Hollypaw, Birchcloud, Sootwhisker, Rainfur and Spiderpaw. And then things like the Tribe of Thunder. It all seems a little foggy but do you know what any of it means?" Larchpaw asked.

Once the words left her mouth, she knew they sounded a little odd. And she knew that there were some other names that she could add to the list but no matter how hard she thought, she just couldn't form the words; unlike the seven other names that fell easily off her tongue.

Cinderpelt nodded her head sadly. "Those are all significant cats in your life, though you mixed up their names. Ferncloud and Dustpelt are your parents, Birchpaw and Spiderleg are your brothers, and then Sootfur and Rainwhisker are the two toms closest to you other than your family," she explained. And then quietly she added, "And Hollykit was your sister."

When Cinderpelt said the names, they sounded like the fit into place better and Larchpaw could feel a flash of familiarity. "And then the Tribe of Thunder?"

"You're confusing the Tribe of Rushing Water with our Clan, ThunderClan. Firestar, our leader, will have to re-explain everything to you until you get your memory back."

Larchpaw could have sworn that they were called RushingClan and the Tribe of Thunder… maybe the other cat was the one who was mistaken?

"So I'm going to remember everything then?" Larchpaw asked as hope filled her chest. Up until then, all she was feeling was confused.

Cinderpelt's face faltered slightly. "That's what we're hoping. I'm holding an emergency meeting with the medicine cats from the other Clans and together, we're going to do everything in our power to make you remember."

"Oh." Larchpaw's ears drooped. That wasn't the answer she was looking for. She wanted confirmation that she was going to get her memories back, not a 'maybe.'

"In a way, you're lucky," Cinderpelt continued. "You're young and have a full life to make new memories and rebuild your relationships. Physically, you're healthy, you just have to strive to get your mind in the same place."

"I'll do my best," Larchpaw said, dipping her head.

"Everyone has been dying to see you so I'm going to let them in by two's so you aren't overwhelmed. Is that okay with you?" Cinderpelt asked and Larchpaw nodded. In truth, she would have preferred seeing no one at all but she knew she would have to face these cats eventually.

"I'll let your parents see you first." Cinderpelt disappeared out of the den and said something to someone standing outside the den. There was some sighs of relief before two cats appeared at the entrance.

She instantly recognized the tom and she-cat. The tom was the dark tabby who was part of the group that helped her back to camp, and then the she-cat had been standing at the entrance, looking heartbroken and worried.

"Larchpaw?" the tom whispered quietly. "I suppose you don't remember us but I'm Dustpelt, your father, and this is your mother, Ferncloud."

"I remember your names," Larchpaw admitted shyly. "I remember a short list of cats and Cinderpelt say they're all important to me in some way or another. Though I get their name's mixed up a bit…"

"Who else was part of that list?" Ferncloud asked sweetly. Her voice was like honey and it made Larchpaw feel safe. Just their presences in the den did.

"I'll see if I can get this right but Birchpaw, Hollypaw – no, Hollykit! – Spiderleg, Rainwhisker and Soot…fur?" The last part came out as a question.

"Yeah, his name is Sootfur," Dustpelt replied grumpily. Under his breath, he added, "Of course he would be on your list."

Thankfully, Larchpaw hadn't heard that part but Ferncloud had. She playfully swatted her mate on the flank with her tail as the three fell into a comfortable conversation. They talked about everything from something called 'The Great Journey' to what ThunderClan was like.

Most of the words meant nothing to her and Larchpaw slipped up a few times and called ThunderClan, the Tribe of Thunder, but it was just nice talking to her parents.

It was strange, in a way. Larchpaw had just met these cats but she already felt an unmistakeable bond with them. Then again, they were her parents and knew how to talk to and comfort her so that played a big part in it. She must have been close with them when she had her memories.

Finally, after what only seemed like heartbeats, Cinderpelt appeared at the entrance again. "I'm sorry, but you two have to leave now. We're trying to introduce Larchpaw to as many significant cats in her life in hopes that it triggers something. You can come back in the morning."

"We understand," Ferncloud mewed sadly just as Dustpelt opened his mouth to object. He wanted to yell at the she-cat and say, '_If we couldn't jolt her memory, then no one can!_' But one look from his mate made him bite his tongue.

The pair left and just as they did, Ferncloud leaned over to her mate and whispered, "How many mice do you want to bet that she remembers Sootfur?"

All Larchpaw heard was grumbling in response.

Just as the next pair entered, the sleeping she-cat, woke up and muttered something about having to collect herbs and then she followed Cinderpelt out of the den. Larchpaw figured she was the other medicine cat, Leafpool, that she had heard of.

The two cats who entered were toms, one was the dark one who was also on the patrol, and the other one looked nearly identical to Larchpaw, if a few shades lighter.

"Birchleg and Spiderpaw?" Larchpaw guessed and the older one let out a snort.

"Birchpaw and Spiderleg," Spiderleg clarified. "Cinderpelt explained to us that you only remembered names and even those were a little mixed up."

"We're your brothers," Birchpaw piped up. "I'm your littermate and the Spiderleg was part of Ferncloud's first litter. Soon we'll all be warriors and sharing the warriors den with Whitepaw and Spiderleg!"

Larchpaw understood only half of what the tom had said. She didn't know what 'warriors' were or who Whitepaw was but she figured they must be important if Birchpaw seemed so passionate about them.

Spiderleg turned to his younger brother and cuffed him over the ear. "She doesn't know what any of that is, you mouse-brain!" he hissed.

"Well she remembered you, Spider_paw_," Birchpaw huffed back. Spiderleg shot him a harsh glare back and Larchpaw couldn't help but break into a fit of giggles. Even though she couldn't remember them, she figured conversations like these happened often.

Spiderleg glanced at his sister with amusement flickering in his eyes. It meant a lot to him that he could make her laugh after hurting her so badly.

"Hey, um, how long have I been unconscious?" Larchpaw asked randomly when the thought struck her.

"All day," Birchpaw answered quickly. "Barely anyone did their warrior duties because they're all waiting for you to wake up! Firestar finally had to force Sootfur and Rainwhisker on a patrol because they aren't immediate family."

'_Then why are they so special_?' Larchpaw thought to herself. She had heard their names multiple times but all Cinderpelt had said was that they were close.

"Excited to see him?" Spiderleg teased and Birchpaw sniggered. Larchpaw only cocked her head to the side, not fully understanding the joke. How could she be excited to meet someone who she only knew by name?

"I guess?" It came out as more of a question than a statement. "Why are they so special anyway?"

"Well Rainwhisker is your-" Spiderleg cut his little brother off.

"Don't tell her! She can figure her feelings out on her own!" he hissed quietly. _Feelings_? He didn't mean… romantically, did he?

"What do you mean by feelings?" Larchpaw asked, her faces scrunching up in confusion. It seemed like that was her only emotion lately.

But just as Birchpaw was about to tell her, Cinderpelt walked in again, ending their little session. "Larchpaw, the last pair are ready to meet you… do you think you're ready?"

Larchpaw slowly nodded, shooting one last curious look at her brothers. But they weren't looking at her to receive it. They were sharing a mischievous glance when they heard Cinderpelt's words. Spiderleg was the one to speak up.

"Uh, Cinderpelt, do you think we could stay here for a while longer when Rainwhisker and Sootfur come in?"

Cinderpelt frowned. "No. I didn't let your parents stay any longer and I'm not going to let you two. Besides, I know the reason you want to stay and it's not going to happen."

"But we want to see her reaction when she meets _him_," Birchpaw pleaded. Larchpaw's ears twitched as her gaze switched from her brothers to the medicine cat. Who was 'him?'

"The answer is still no," Cinderpelt meowed firmly. "You two need to learn how to mind your own business."

"She's our sister, she is our business!" Spiderleg argued but the gray she-cat was already herding them out of her den. All Larchpaw could do was stare at them in confusion and wonder who this tom was that was getting everyone so riled up.

It was obviously either Rainwhisker or Sootfur – or was it Rainfur and Sootwhisker? …No, no, it was definitely Rainwhisker and Sootfur. She figured that she had feelings for one of them and then the other was probably just a friend. She just needed to know which one.

But when the two toms walked in, Larchpaw instantly knew who they were talking about.

Her jaw parted slightly and her eyelids drooped as she watched him pad in. His muscles were rippling as he walked and his gray tail brushing lazily on the ground. His head was down and Larchpaw was already in love.

And then, when he looked up, she felt the air leave her lungs. His eyes were… brilliant. Beautiful. _Perfect_.

He shared an awkward look with the other tom standing next to him. "Uh, Larchpaw, I know you don't remember us but we're both very close to you."

Larchpaw couldn't respond. All she could do was stare.

The other tom, who looked quite similar and she realized with a start that they could be brothers, added in, "We understand if this is all a bit overwhelming for you so if you feel… uncomfortable, then just tell us and we'll leave."

Larchpaw managed to keep the drool in her mouth and calmly shake her head. "No, no, don't leave." '_Oh Tribe of Stars, please don't leave_!' "I remember your names and Cinderpelt says I only remember the names of those who I care about."

"So you remember us?" the paler of the two asked, his entire face lighting up. But when Larchpaw shook her, head, it fell again. He looked so disappointed that it physically hurt Larchpaw to watch.

She could already tell how strongly she felt towards these brothers.

"Uh, not exactly," Larchpaw mewed shyly. She couldn't help but steal glances at _him_ as she spoke. "I remember your names but not who you are. I know that one of you is Sootfur and one of you is Rainwhisker but I just don't know who."

The darker one looked slightly relieved, but still looked troubled. He spoke confidently as he said, "Don't worry. Even if you don't remember us now, we can still be just as close as we were before."

"So uh, could you introduce yourselves?" Larchpaw asked and they chuckled.

"I'm Sootfur." He was the paler one.

"And I'm Rainwhisker," said the darker one.

'_Rainwhisker,_' Larchpaw repeated his name in her mind. '_The absolutely breath-taking tom. The one I think I might be in love with._'

**OOOH! And this is where the love triangle really begins! As many of you know, I lost a lot of my writing when my computer broke but thankfully, I had Choices written down in a notebook so I should still be updating this. I just need to type it from my notebook to FFN.**


End file.
